JAMES ROBERT BUFORD

The soul of James Buford of Arroyo Grande left this world on December 26, 2007, at the age of 53. He is survived by his parents, Dolores Buford and Col (Ret) Carrol Buford of Vandenberg Village, his sister and brother-in-law, Karen and Gene Long, of Lompoc; his brother, Joseph Buford, of Atascadero, who said "Jim was the best brother Karen and I could ever have." He left behind two nephews and a niece and their families, which includes five great nephews and a two-week old great niece, all of Lompoc.

Jim, as he was known by his family and friends, was born on April 10, 1954, at the United States Naval Hospital in Bainbridge, Maryland. Christmas was his favorite time of the year. As a youngster, he used to keep a Christmas tree up in his bedroom until his birthday.

Jim graduated from Cal Poly University with a degree in Computer Science. His professional career was in Computer Engineering. Most recently he was employed by National Security Technologies in Goleta, where he was a Senior Scientist working on Special Projects. At one point in his career, Jim and his coworkers used one of their projects to aid in the attempt to rescue survivors of the 9/11 disaster.

Jim will be remembered for his generosity to all. Private final services will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the care of Starbuck-Lind Mortuary.