He grew up in the small town of Chester on the bluffs of the Mississippi River. His family included his mother, father and sister, who remained in Chester until August 1954, when the family moved to Alton.

James attended school in Alton and excelled in his studies because of his love for science and reading. During his high school years he developed a keen interest in electronics that he nurtured throughout his life.

After graduation in June 1959, he entered the U.S. Navy.

He married the former Joyce Ann Warren. Of that union, three children were born, Mark Eric, Adrianna Lee and Jamie Suzzette.

His naval career began at Great Lakes, with numerous tours of duty on the east and west coasts of the United States and Southeast Asia. He retired from the Navy as a senior chief petty officer at Moffett Field in 1984 after 25 years of service in aviation electronics. He continued his illustrious career in electronics as a quality assurance manager at Viking Laboratories and as a metrology supervisor at Telogy.

All those who knew him knew of his attention to detail, love for children and dedication to the motto "do it right the first time."

He is survived by his mother, Blanche Williams, and a sister, Willetta Bradley, and her husband, John, of Alton; his fiancee, Joyce Foster; a son, Mark Covington of Albany, Calif.; two daughters, Adrianna and her husband, Russell Haynes, of San Jose, and Jamie Covington of Mountain View; four  grandchildren, Brittany and her husband, Keith Andrews, Adrian Blackshire, Austin Williams and Christina Penny; a great-grandchild, Kiana Andrews; three stepchildren, Sharon Kuffel, Philip Kuffel and Deanne Ghoreishi; a niece, Victoria Greenlee of St. Louis; two nephews, Anthony Dorsey of Dayton, Ohio, and Delancey Haynes of Alton; and numerous relatives and friends.