James was born June 20, 1928, on a ranch east of Oconto, Nebraska to Daniel & Hazel (Whipple) Mayo. James graduated from Broken Bow High School in 1946 and then joined the US Navy. James graduated from the Naval Training Station in San Diego, California and was assigned to the USS Cacapon, a Navy oil supply ship. He sailed to the South Pacific and to the Antarctic in the Admiral Byrd Expedition for three months. After a fuel supply to Athens, Greece he returned home to Broken Bow, Nebraska. On April 17, 1948, Audrey Hickenbottom became his wife.
Audrey and James moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in 2002. He was a lifetime member in the VFW, DAV, and Masonic Lodge in Broken Bow, and served 40 years in the Broken Bow Lions Club.
“The Lord was good and gave them the privilege of raising four children, Randal, Thomas, Edwin, Anita Mayo, and a grandchild Amanda Mayo. Surviving family includes His wife Audrey Mayo, Sons, Thomas (Bonnie), Edwin (Carmen), and Daughter Anita (Les Bird), nine grandchildren, five step- grandchildren and twenty-three great grandchildren.”
James transferred to the Ammunition Depot in Hastings where he finished his time in the U.S. Navy. James and Audrey moved back to Broken Bow, Nebraska and earned a master certificate in mechanics, which was his vocation for 33 years, twelve years of which was running his own business. James spent several years, part time, as Custer County jailor, and for 27 years he was a federal crop insurance adjuster.
James and Audrey lost their oldest son Randal on October 5, 2005. James was preceded in death by his oldest son Randal, by his mother & father – Daniel & Hazel Mayo, Audrey’s parents – Fred & Ethel Hickenbottom, all of his brothers – Howard Allen, Frank, Robert, and Daniel Jr., and Audrey’s sister & brother-in-law Loraine & Maynard Cornish.