Tara Colleen Neda

Tara Colleen Neda departed this world on 18 April, 2021, but not before leaving her mark on all whom she met. With a hummingbird's energy and a radiant smile, Tara got everyone's attention when she entered a room. Though sweet looking and slight of build, Tara was a force to be reckoned with, as many defendants found out when she was sitting across from them as a Federal Prosecutor. The Federal agents with whom she partnered to build her cases said that they loved working with Tara because she approached her cases with the fighting attitude of a honey badger.

At different times in her career with the Department of Justice, Tara took special assignments in developing countries to help them establish or reform their legal systems, often staying for many months. Some of her assigned countries included Cameroon, Yemen, and Afghanistan. When off from work in Cameroon, Tara took up golf. During her free time in Yemen and Afghanistan, Tara wore a flak jacket and took up target practice with her government-issued gun.

Earlier in her career, Tara was headquartered in the Washington, DC office of the DOJ as an aviation disaster attorney. In this role, she traveled to different aircraft crash sites throughout the United States, but she especially loved flying across the country to cases in Alaska and Hawaii. At the time, Tara was also a private pilot and actively performed aerobatics as a recreation. Tara pursued flying with the same zeal as she lived the rest of her life.

Prior to studying law, Tara received a master's degree in wildlife biology from the University of Michigan. The topic of her thesis concerned the arctic wolf. On several occasions she traveled to Alaska and studied wolves in the deep wilderness. Although Tara loved the field of wildlife biology, she also really enjoyed good food and travel and was concerned that a wildlife biologist's salary might limit her other pastimes. This led her to make the fortuitous decision to study law at Hamlin University.

Throughout her life, Tara traveled widely, across all seven continents. For more than 23 years, Tara and her life partner, Rob, traveled the world for various nature expeditions. Some of the many animals and destinations they saw included blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos, penguins in Antarctica, sea turtles in Borneo, grizzly bears in Alaska (so close one could hear them breathe!), polar bears in Canada, gorillas in Uganda, and many other fascinating creatures in beautiful lands.

Tara loved traveling, but she also loved coming home to her mini-oasis in Corrales, NM. There, in a verdant landscape, Tara had cats, dogs, horses, chickens, fish, and an abundance of visiting wild birds. Tara was an accomplished animal trainer, developing the riding skills of her two horses and teaching manners to Annie, a dog she brought home from the streets of Kabul. She even trained her cats to respect outdoor boundaries and to come running into the house when called.

In addition to Rob, Tara leaves behind her mother, Lynn; her three sisters, Carol, Tammy, and Lisa; sister-in-law, Sherri; brothers-in-law, Rick ("her favorite") and Bob; nieces, Giselle, Brittany, and Brooke; nephews, Paul Miguel and Charlie; and many in her extended family. Tara was preceded in death by her brother, Marty; and her father, Paul. Though Tara will be missed deeply by her family and friends, all who knew her are better for it (except those federal defendants that she prosecuted!).

To honor Tara's memory, please plant a tree, adopt a stray, or donate to your favorite conservation cause.

A celebration of Tara's life will be held at a later date.