He attended the Hastings Public schools, graduating in May of 1950. Jim entered Hastings College in the fall of 1950 where he was freshman class president, active in theater and debate, and a center on the Bronco football team. His wife-to-be, Marjorie Barrett of Lexington, was a member of the same freshman class. Jim left Hastings College after two years to enter law school at the University of Nebraska. After Marjorie graduated, they were married on August 8, 1954. Marjorie taught third grade in Lincoln while Jim finished law school.
While in law school Jim was Associate Editor of the Law Review and a member of the National Moot Court Team. He graduated in 1956 and received a ROTC Commission in the Air Force. While awaiting the call to active duty, Jim practiced law in Hastings with Stiner and Boslaugh.
Jim served as a judge advocate at Forbes Air Force Base, Topeka, Kansas, from 1957 to 1960. He was discharged from active duty as a Captain and returned to Lincoln to practice with Stewart, Stewart, and Calkins until he joined Nebco, Inc. in October 1961. He served as Vice President and General Counsel of Nebco for 41 years, retiring at the end of 2002.
While still at Nebco Jim returned to UNL on a part-time basis as his workload permitted earning an M.A. in 1994 and a Ph.D. in 2003, both in History. After his retirement from Nebco, Jim taught history at Nebraska Wesleyan University, UNL, and Southeast Community College. He authored two books, Slipping Backward, a history of the Nebraska Supreme Court, and In Cold Storage, an account of a bizarre set of murders in McCook, NE. In Cold Storage received the 2016 Nebraska Book Award for True Crime presented by the Nebraska Center for the Book. In recent years Jim taught many classes for OLLI, the Osher Life Learning Institute.
Jim was active in the work of the legal organizations to which he belonged. He was President of the Nebraska State Bar Association in 1986. He received the state bar’s two most prestigious awards, the George H. Turner Award, and the Award of Special Merit. He served as Nebraska State Delegate to the American Bar Association for eight years, was a member of the ABA Board of Governors from 1980-1983 and was a member of the Committee on the Federal Judiciary from 1983-1989. He was President of the Fellows of American Bar Foundation in 1997.
His efforts were not confined to legal matters. After returning from the Air Force, he was one of the “Whiz Kids” who helped Norbert Tiemann win election as Nebraska’s Governor. During the Tiemann administration he was Tiemann’s volunteer speech writer.
His civic duties included board member and Chairman of Bryan Memorial Hospital, the forerunner of Bryan Health; acting in many productions at the Lincoln Community Playhouse, sitting on the board of the Nebraska State Historical Society and the Nebraska State Historical Foundation, where he served as President twice; the Capital Environs Commission; and the Historic Preservation Commission. Later in life Jim discovered an interest in opera, somewhat unusual for someone who acknowledged he couldn’t carry a tune. He served as Treasurer for Metropolitan Opera Auditions, Nebraska District for many years.
Jim became a member of First Plymouth Congregational Church in 1982, serving as an usher, trustee, moderator of the congregation, and facilitator of a Sunday morning class considering the intersection of theological and civic concerns in current events.
Jim was a member of the Round Table, the Country Club of Lincoln, the University Club and the American Legion. He and Marjorie were trustees of the University of Nebraska Foundation.
Jim enjoyed his family, growing prize-winning roses, reviewing books, playing squash, weightlifting, hiking and mountain climbing, his homes in Colorado, his friends, and his cats.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother William, and his son, Will.
Among his survivors are his wife of 70 years, Marjorie; daughter Mary J. Hewitt, Lincoln; son John C. (Elizabeth Hansen) Hewitt, Omaha; daughter Martha (Chris) Livingston, Lincoln; six grandsons, one great-granddaughter, and his beloved cat, Mondo.
A memorial service will be held at 4:00 PM on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at First Plymouth Congregational Church, 2000 D St.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Nebraska Lawyers Foundation, 635 S. 14th St, Lincoln, NE, 68508, or Hastings College, 701 N. Turner Ave., Hastings, NE, 68901.