Mike McCone, former head of California Historical Society, dies

Mike McCone has died of leukemia at age 83. Mike McCone has died of leukemia at age 83. Photo: Bruce Forrester / Bruce Forrester 1985 Photo: Bruce Forrester / Bruce Forrester 1985 Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Mike McCone, former head of California Historical Society, dies 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Mike McCone, executive director of the California Historical Society during crucial years that were to determine its survival and later board chair at Heyday Books in Berkeley, died May 9 after a sudden onset of leukemia.

Mr. McCone’s death was confirmed by his companion of 20 years, Charlene Harvey. Mr. McCone was 83 and had been living in an assisted living facility in San Francisco.

Among the institutions for which he worked during his nonprofit management career, besides the historical society, were the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Grace Cathedral.

He was dedicated to the importance of the small press and literary voices that would never be heard without it. In that effort, he gave unlimited hours to Heyday, which he helped convert from a struggling for-profit enterprise to a successful nonprofit.

“Mike was a very loving man, and one of the things he loved most was books,” Harvey said. “He was most proud of the small book he published about his formative years in the Peace Corps. That gave him a different outlook on life and a feeling that service to the community really mattered.”

When Mr. McCone was hired by the historical society in 1990, it had eliminated its curators and librarians due to budget cuts and had a skeleton staff of six in a dark and drafty mansion in Pacific Heights.

He engineered the sale of the mansion and another property in Pacific Heights, and the purchase of a vacant hardware store on Mission Street near Third Street for a new headquarters.

“It was a daring and a bold move, and a very strategic one,” said Anthea Hartig, executive director of the historical society. The building opened in 1995, just after the new SFMOMA around the corner. The California Historical Society suddenly had visibility in a vibrant art district.

“Mike grew staff, established an endowment and brought in all kinds of new donors,” Hartig said. “It was a true transformation.”

Even after his retirement in 1999, Mr. McCone stuck around. When Hartig was hired away from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Mr. McCone was the first to welcome her.

“Mike had a generous and warm spirit, deep intelligence and a fabulous wit,” she said.

Michael Fenwick McCone was born March 18, 1934, in Philadelphia. His parents divorced, and Mr. McCone moved west with his mother and sister, Jennifer. He attended Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley until Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo opened in 1951. He was elected student body president and was in Drake’s first graduating class.

He graduated from Yale and after serving in the U.S. Navy, he answered the call to service of President John F. Kennedy and served six years on the Peace Corps staff.

His first posting was Sierra Leone, to which he relocated with his wife, Caroline (Nini) Charles, and their two infant boys, Andy and Mike. A third son, Matt, was born overseas.

From Sierra Leone he moved on to Malawi, then Borneo, for his final three years in the Peace Corps.

Upon returning to San Francisco, the family settled in the Richmond District. Mr. McCone was hired to work in Mayor Joseph Alioto’s administration, heading up an urban renewal program called Model Cities.

“He was worldly without being cynical, deeply rooted yet playful, and he was great fun to be around,” said Malcolm Margolin, the now-retired founder of Heyday Books.

“He was for me not only a friend but a mentor and a role model.”

Mr. McCone’s first marriage ended in divorce, as did a second marriage, to Birgit Jacobsen.

In his retirement, Mr. McCone wrote his Peace Corps memoir, “Transformative Years,” published in 2010. He and Harvey began spending time at Stinson Beach, where he became part of a round-robin tennis group.

He’d once won the Marin County high school tennis championship, and he played at a high level nearly until the end.

Survivors include Harvey of San Francisco; sons Andy of Seattle, Mike of San Anselmo and Matt of Turlock; and three grandchildren.

The family requests that donations in his name be made to Heyday Books or the San Francisco Food Bank.

Services will be at 2 p.m. June 2 at Grace Cathedral.

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Instagram: @sfchronicle_art