James graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and upon graduation moved to Seattle WA to pursue a career in the hydrology field. James was into hiking and he loved to snow ski and scuba dive. He married Beth in May 2006 after a few yrs of dating and unfortunately died later that year. James was full of life and enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. He did not have any children.

Cause of Death: Lung Cancer
Classmate City: Seattle 
Classmate State: WA
Classmate Country: USA
Survived By: Beth Mathiessen