Jim Williams was born on August 15, 1947, in Alva, Oklahoma. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on October 17, 1966, and went on active duty beginning on December 14, 1966. Airman Williams completed basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas, in February 1967, and then completed the Weather Observer Course at Chanute AFB, Illinois. Sgt Williams served with the 6th Weather Squadron (Mobile), of the 6th Weather Wing, part of the Air Weather Service, stationed at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma from late 1967 until his honorable discharge from the Air Force on December 11, 1970. During this time he deployed to South Korea to set up weather stations in 1968, and to Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands in late 1968-early 1969. After leaving active duty, Sgt Williams remained in the Air Force Reserve until December 1974. Williams completed his Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Mathematics at The University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 1, 1975, and his Master of Science Degree at The University of Tulsa on July 28, 1978. He received his Private Pilot's License on March 21, 1990. Jim Williams retired from the Sweeny Complex at Chevron Phillips Chemical Company in Sweeny, Texas, in 2013.