James Mason

In Memory of James Mason

James, pictured here with fellow community members (including Jon “maddog” Hall) at LFNW 2014. Photo via openSUSE News.

Known to the community as bear454, James was a longtime SUSE contributor and served as President of the LFNW board, joining around 2018 (per a current board member's best recollection), though he'd been volunteering at LFNW for some unknown stretch of years before that. He was a good friend to many in this community, and one of the core reasons LinuxFest Northwest continued through and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

James had been an openSUSE community member since 2009 and served as its Ambassador for Bellingham, WA, and worked professionally as a Technical Architect for Public Cloud at SUSE. Beyond LFNW, he was involved locally with Bellingham Codes and the Bellingham Makerspace. The wider openSUSE project publicly mourned his passing, noting his “long connection with the project that stretches back to its beginnings.”

James passed away after several years living with cancer and a rare clotting disorder, survived by his wife Alina and their children. The community came together to support his family in his memory.

Sources: openSUSE News, community tribute.

This tribute draws on the recollection of current board members plus these public tributes. If you knew James and would like to add to it, reach out.