Jim served in both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy. As a result, when he went to William & Mary, he was entitled to the GI Bill educational benefits. This amounted to a little money for tuition and a monthly stipend of $78.
When John D. Rockefeller Jr. was sold on the reconstruction of the King’s Arms Tavern project in 1949-1950, the plan was to close the Travis House restaurant, which stood at the foot of the Palace Green across Dukes of Gloucester Street from Bruton Parish Church, and move the staff to the King’s Arms when it was ready. All the waiters at the Travis House were exclusively W&M undergraduate men. Colonial Williamsburg selected 10 of them to be coached with details about the King’s Arms — how it came to be reconstructed, the furnishings, etc. — in order to “show” it on the Sunday prior to opening for business on a Monday. To supplement his GI benefits, Jim was among the first waiters to work at the King’s Arms Tavern.
While at William & Mary, Jim was the College’s marching drum major from 1948-1952. He was also active in the Backdrop Club, wrote for the Flat Hat and was a member of Kappa Alpha Fraternity. He helped form the College’s first Pep Club.
After graduating in 1952, he made his home in Williamsburg. He was a chartered life underwriter with the Prudential Life Insurance Company and excelled in his contributions to the Williamsburg community. Referred to as “Mr. Williamsburg” for his love of and participation in all things Williamsburg, he was a founder and long-term producer of An Occasion for the Arts and was instrumental in the planning for the Victory at Yorktown Bicentennial in 1981. Jim was a past president of the Williamsburg Kiwanis Club and the Twentieth Century Gallery. He was a charter member of the St. Andrews Society and the Williamsburg Cotillion and was a member of the Williamsburg German and Bruton Parish Church. He sang with the Duke of Gloucester Street and Three Guys and a Doll barbershop groups.
Jim also served as charter member, director and past president of the Order of the White Jacket; board member of the Alumni Band Association; past charter director of the Williamsburg alumni chapter; and founding member of the Association of 1775. He formed and served as a board member of the William & Mary Alumni Band, which he led at the halftime field show as its drillmaster and hard baton twirling drum major every Homecoming from 1969 to 2002. In 1997, he was honored with an Alumni Service Award for his work with the Alumni Band Association, and in 2004, he was honored to be chosen as the Homecoming grand marshal and received special recognition throughout Homecoming & Reunion Weekend. He passed away in 2009.
His legacy lives on through the Order of the White Jacket with the James Coleman Anthony Scholarship (3356) and scholarship funding provided through the Order of the White Jacket Fund (0579).