James Wilbur Mosteller III

Jim Mosteller, 75, passed away on Sunday, March 6th, 2016 after a three-month battle with stage 4 brain cancer, surrounded by his family and friends.

He leaves behind his wife of 53 years, Sandy; his daughter, Maggie; his son Steve and wife Shelly; his son Michael and wife Kaceta; and six grandchildren, Jessica, RaeKwon, Tyler, Matthew, Sarah and Danielle; as well as two step-brothers. He is pre-deceased by his sister, Mary Mosteller Stuckey.

Born in 1940 at Fort Riley, Kansas, Jim’s early life was one of a traveling Army brat, living in China, Japan and multiple US army bases by the time he was 10. After the death of his father, Col. James W. Mosteller, Jr., Jim’s mother, Ruth moved to Orlando where Jim and his older sister, Mary spent the rest of their childhood. He graduated valedictorian of Edgewater High School in 1958.

Jim attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he graduated in 1962 with a degree in Economics where he was president of the SAE fraternity. He married Sandy in October of 1962 and began Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport Rhode Island where he graduated number one in his class academically, and number two overall in a graduating class of 777.

Stationed on the USS Halsey Powell DD686 he was 2nd Division and Communications officer. After active duty, he spent 27 years in the Naval Reserve including tours with various Security Groups becoming Commanding Officer of over half a dozen units across the country. For his work in Cryptology and OPINTEL he earned multiple awards including Meritorious Service medal, Navy Commendation medal, National Defense Service medals, Armed Forces Reserve medals and the Navy Expert Pistol medal. He retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1993.

In addition to his naval career, Jim worked for Philco-Ford, and Merck, Sharp & Dohme in Pennsylvania. After moving back to San Diego in 1975, he worked for Kelco, NPRDC, and SPAWAR.

Upon retirement, Jim threw himself into the USS Midway. He became a docent and a member of the docent council, spending countless hours doing what he loved best.

He was a husband, father, and grandfather with honor and integrity who loved spending time with his family. Despite his accomplishments he remained humble and unassuming, with a genuine interest in everyone he spoke to. He always had a twinkle in his eye, particularly when speaking about Single Malts and the Midway. He had a great sense of humor; both witty and punny. A man of many interests, he never stopped learning and enjoyed Scottish Country dancing, Japanese tea ceremonies and was a certified Beer Judge. He loved to travel widely with his wife, family and friends.

A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, March 20th at 1:00pm on the flight deck of the USS Midway. He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider the following organizations:

USS Midway Museum – STEM Education (please enter his name in comments) http://www.midway.org/Support or call (619) 398-8282

The Fischer House http://www.dontate.fisherhouse.org/sandiego or call (619) 532-9055.