James Joseph Tuhtan

Jim Tuhtan, born to Dorothy and Joseph Tuhtan in San Francisco on September 14, 1948, passed away February 1, 2021, due to complications from ALS. Jim can best be described as creative, witty, irreverent, intelligent, outspoken and, above all, kind, caring, and an extremely sweet guy. These are just a few ways to describe “Jim Tuht”. During his life, Jim lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, then Seattle, and on Orcas Island in Washington State. However, he always spoke most highly of his days living in Mendocino County, and especially his happy years of “a really good life” in Ukiah, California. Jim’s passions were varied and broad. His love of music, of baseball, and of travel was very strong, yet his love of family and friends was even stronger. He worked for the greater part of his life in the service industry (bartender, bar manager, and waiter) in order to fuel his passions: saving money to travel in the United States and abroad. Jim spent one summer riding his motorcycle across the U.S. on a quest to visit his favorite ballparks. He made sure that Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, and Camden Yards were some of the spots he checked off his list. During his many visits to Europe, Jim would always include a visit to Waiblingen, Germany, to visit his dear and closest friend John Fischer, as well as the Fischer family. Jim fondly considered them his second family. Jim’s memory was astounding. He could recite in intricate detail baseball statistics and historical moments dating back to the beginning of the major leagues. He also would recall music concerts he had attended at the Fillmore Auditorium and Avalon Ballroom, citing the bands he saw on specific nights and the order in which they played. He had recently asked his brother Joe if he remembered the band they saw together playing Santana cover songs in Yugoslavia during a trip they took in 1978. Uh, no. This power of memory also added to his proficiency as a musician. Jim began playing guitar at 19, first playing rock and folk on electric and acoustic guitars. He added many other styles to his repertoire: bluegrass flat-picking, three-finger picking, classical, and a little gypsy jazz, with his true passion growing into playing jazz guitar. Jim would practice for hours on end in order to learn technique and to read music, all of which was selftaught. He memorized approximately 200 jazz standards, and also composed numerous original jazz songs. He was in a number of bands in the areas he lived, playing rock, rock-jazz, and ultimately forming a jazz combo, Jazz Illusion, in Ukiah. This jazz band, with friend and vocalist Dawn Senften, was his favorite. One of Jim’s greatest joys was owning and operating Jitterbox Music in Ukiah, where he primarily sold stringed instruments and taught guitar lessons. He also enjoyed managing and emceeing the Monday open mike nights at the local Ukiah brewpub. Jim was a beloved brother to his older sister Cathleen, and his younger brothers Joe (Nancy), David (Jeannette), and Tom (Nancy). They were a very tight-knit sibling group. He was also a close and thoughtful uncle, a great-uncle, and a much-loved cousin to many. Throughout his lifetime, he was a dear friend to a vast number of men and women he met along the way, some of whom stayed in contact for years and years. That was Jim. He can never be replaced. He will always be remembered. On Jim’s behalf, donations to the ALS Association will be appreciated.