James Smith graduated from Devine High in 1986. According to James, “If you ask most folks about James Smith, they will say that he sounds familiar; but, if you ask about Catfish, they will say, ‘Oh, I remember him’.”
Following high school, James attended the University of Texas. However, he left college and entered the US Army. Not to be thwarted from achieving his degree, upon leaving the military, he went back to the University of Texas and completed his Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Upon graduation, James worked in the air conditioning industry for many years.
Throughout his lifetime, James has remained friends with Devine alum, Martin Bomba, and he spent a lot of his spare time working with Martin on construction and remodeling projects. Eventually, James left the A/C industry to work alongside his friend and thus became a full-time contractor with Martin’s company, Window World and South Texas Siding. He did this for a few years before deciding to return to engineering. Then, in 2016, James left engineering again to become the full-time operations manager for Window World. Subsequently, he began working for them in design consulting.
Early on, James married and had three children, Jamie, Ashley, and Cole. Today, he is married to his second wife, Jeanne. The family lives in Adkins, TX, with James’ two youngest children, Ashley and Cole.
The rest of James’ family includes his oldest stepdaughter, Kimberly, who graduated from Texas State University with a degree in nursing. His next stepdaughter, Samantha, is set to graduate Texas A&M with an emphasis on business. His oldest daughter, Jamie, graduated from Concordia University as a Dental Assistant. His youngest daughter, Ashley, will attend Texas Tech in the fall of 2018, seeking a law degree. His son, Cole, will attend Texas Military Academy beginning January 2018 with aspirations of joining the US Air Force.