James Ross Schaeffer

Jim Schaeffer was born on March 31, 1952, to June and Alfred Schaeffer, who lived in Vernalis, California, at the time. As a young man, Jim enjoyed helping his grandmother in her large graden and playing their favorite game, Cribbage. He also assisted his father at the Vernalis Bean Warehouse. He loved regaling his mother with stories after school as he ate an afternoon snack and she worked in the local one-person post office. Jim played varsity basketball as a freshman at Tracy High School and all three years at Mission Viejo High School. After taking photography classes, Jim always traveled with his camera, chronicling his life and snapping candid pictures of family members and friends, alike. His passion, however, was always astronomy; as a young man, he not only spent countless hours on his telescope observing the planets and stars, but he even sanded a lens for a larger telescope, allowing him to view the night sky more clearly.

While Jim Schaeffer was a student at Delta College in Stockton, he enjoyed presenting astronomy lessons at the George H. Clever Planetarium. Jim received his Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Stanislaus, and Ph.D. in Astrophysics from University of Pittsburgh. Soon after, he was hired by NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California. Specifically, he worked in the Planetary System Branch and the Mars Climate Modeling Group. Jim was best known for creating the protocol to measure the atmosphere on Mars, taking raw data and turning it into information that could be used to quantify the atmosphere on the red planet.

Jim Schaeffer is survived by his five siblings: JoAnn Raissi and her husband Sassan of Morgan Hill, Bill Schaeffer of Stockton, Penny Cook and her husband Paul of Menifee, Sue Schaeffer of Corona, and John Schaeffer of Vernalis. He is also survived by his four nephews and nieces: Jahan Raissi, his wife Katayoon, and their three boys, Darin, Ryaan, and Kian; Laudan Raissi, her husband Anthony Justman, and their twins, Soraya and Rowley; Sean Cook, his wife Megan, and their two boys, Max and Jack; and Heather Rogato, her husband Vinny, and their two boys, Logan and Connor. Everyone in the family will miss Jim's great sense of humor, enjoyment of a good debate, and scientific view of life.

Jim Schaeffer is preceded in death by his parents, Max Alfred Schaeffer and June Anna Schaeffer.