The organization was conceived by Damian I. Reynolds in the spring of 1958. Three friends, all retired, met with Mr. Reynolds for lunch. Together, Damian Reynolds, Claude Hinn, Lorenz Hansen, and Wallace Plummer met in the Clarimar Restaurant in San Mateo, California, on July 23, 1958, and founded Sons in Retirement. The name was unanimously adopted by the eighteen original members of the club at a second meeting on August 20, 1958.
Members of Sons in Retirement Fort Sutter Branch 14 of Sacramento met with interested men of the Marysville/Yuba City area on June 21, 1973, and invited them to organize a new branch. Thus began the Peach Bowl Branch #45 of Yuba City. The written history was created in 2013 when old records were discovered. The history continues to be updated.
The name Sons in Retirement was replaced by its acronym SIR in 2019 as the preferred name of the organization to confirm the new policy of welcoming men of all ages to join, retired or not. There are over 100 branches covering northern California from Bakersfield to the Oregon border and Lake Tahoe to the Pacific Ocean.