Tait "Jim" Ostrem

Tait James (Jim) Ostrem passed away November 13, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona having lived a very full 96 years. Prior to WWII, Tait, his father Fredrik, and brothers Nels and Clifford had a successful tuna fishing business in Washington and California. When WWII broke out, Tait served in the Merchant Marines as a 2nd assistant engineer on a coastal freighter carrying supplies to radar stations in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans, including an unescorted voyage to Tinian on the Lane Victory carrying a load of 10,000 tons of bombs for the troops. After the war, Tait completed a degree in electrical engineering at Cal Poly and was hired by Westinghouse to work on high-voltage electrical equipment in southwestern US and eventually all over the world. He and his wife Nora (who passed 30 years ago) had four children and many adventures in Arizona, California, and the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Tait is survived by his wife of seven years, Colleen; four children, James (Mary Jondrow), Fredrik (Kim Feeman), Jennie Lock (Richard), Timothy (Dawn); and nine grandchildren. The family would like to thank the staff of Amber Lights for their loving and compassionate care when Tait’s health was failing and asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his name to the Amber Lights Employee Appreciation Fund, 6231 N. Montebella Rd. Tucson, AZ 85704.