He was born September 20, 1942 in Oxford, Nebraska to Louis Daniel James, and Bernice (Bratt) James. Survivors include sons, Michael and Louis; sister, Moiya Linden; brother, Christopher James; sister, Susan Garrison; and their families.
He graduated from the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science in 1964 and began working at Howard Mortuary in Denver, Colorado in 1967. Mike stayed with that establishment for 44 years through its purchase by SCI in 1971, mergers with Moore Mortuary in 1976, and eventually the Olinger Mortuaries in 1987.
He was licensed as a Funeral Director/Embalmer by the State of Colorado and maintained his #899 license number even as a Certified Mortuary Science Practitioner. Mike was honored by his peers in 1998 with the Colorado Funeral Directors Association's Mentor Award for being an outstanding embalmer and teacher-mentor to others in the field. He was a clinical lab embalming instructor for the Mortuary Science Program at Arapahoe Community College from 1995- 2011.
