James Tatera, CDR (Ret) US Navy, passed away peacefully of COVID-19 pneumonia on Tuesday, November 30 ^th in Fairfield, California with his wife Becky and son Walt by his side. He was 57 years old and had been diagnosed with both Optic Neuritis and Multiple Sclerosis with severe demyelinating disease in 2016. James was the youngest of 5 children born to Bernard and Alida Tatera in Lawrence, Kansas on July 8 ^th , 1964. James is survived by his wife Becky and son Walt of Springfield, Virginia, mother Alida Tatera of Vacaville, California, his four siblings: brother Bernard Jr. and his wife Darlene Rau, sister Caroline and her husband Wayne Ward, brother David, sister Anita and her husband Jay Hattendorf, and two brothers-in-law, Robert McHugh and Steve McHugh and his wife Eileen Moorhead along with nine nieces and nephews: Andrew, Brittany, Spencer, Taylor, Nick, Haley, Peter, Perrin and Stephanie.

James hails from Vanden High School at Travis, AFB where he was class Valedictorian. Upon graduation he attended the United States Naval Academy and received his Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering in 1986. His first engineering job as a young Lieutenant was stationed on the USS Midway (CV41 aircraft carrier) in Yokosuka, Japan. He then returned back to his home state of California stationed at Mare Island Shipyard as an Engineering Duty Officer and Docking Officer where he and Becky were reacquainted and then married in 1991. Shortly after, they moved to Boston where James attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received Masters' degrees in both Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering in 1996. His tours took him to Groton, Connecticut and Portsmouth, New Hampshire shipyards, His love for scuba diving landed him in Pensacola, Florida at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center in 1996 qualifying as a Salvage Diving Officer. They moved from New England to DC and welcomed their son Walt in 1999 born in Alexandria, Virginia. James spent the next several years at NAVSEA Systems as a Commander with Team Submarine and ended his military career there. He transitioned to civilian life with Northrup Grumman/Engility.

James was known for his quiet strength and kindness and would give you the shirt off his back or running shoes for a marathon. He received countless military commendation medals and accolades, climbed Mount Fuji, ran multiple Marine Corps Marathons and SF Bay to Breakers events, travelled throughout Europe and Australia, skied the Swiss Alps, rode his motorcycle through Japan and shared his love of scuba diving with Walt – getting him qualified by age 9 and sharing many exotic dives together.

The Tatera family would like to thank the neurological medical teams and staff of Dr. Michael Wilson of UCSF, Dr. Robert Shin of Georgetown Hospital, and Dr. Erin Beck of the National Institutes of Health for their effortless pursuit of treatment for James over the past several years. His case was atypical and complex yet he maintained his sweet disposition and sense of humor through it all

Burial will be in the spring of 2022 at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery with full military honors with memorial services following in Northern Virginia.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are preferred in James' memory to the UCSF Center for Encephalitis, Meningitis and Neurology ( makeagift.ucsf.edu ) where his medical research team works on demyelinating types of conditions.