Jim is a graduate of Denver University. He and his wife, Mary owned and operated an accounting and income tax service in western Colorado for 35 years. While living in Glenwood Springs, they were both active with the Chamber of Commerce, Hospice, and the local community theater. Jim was also a long-time Rotarian. He and Mary were honored with the Chamber's Citizen of the Year award in 2002, and they won both "Best Accounting Office" and "Best Couple" awards in a local newspaper contest for several consecutive years.

Jim is also an author, with 10 books and numerous newspaper and magazine articles in print. Many of the books were histories of towns in western Colorado, and he recently published his latest, a history of Tombstone, Arizona. He is also a semi-professional photographer, and one of his books is a collection of photos of the Glenwood Springs, Colorado area.

He was diagnosed with COPD in 1997. He and Mary sold the accounting practice in 2005 and retired, relocating to Tucson for the lower elevation. He has recently joined the COPD Coalition as a volunteer, and has been working with Amber Fahs and Scott Cerreta in helping to educate the public on various aspects of COPD. He has done three podcasts for inclusion on the coaltion's YouTube channel and Web site, and is qualified to present the COPD 101 course.