Jim was born May 4, 1929, in Canton, Ohio, to William and Doris Bowman Umstattd. His father was president of the Timken Roller Bearing Co.

Jim graduated from Lawrenceville. At Princeton he majored in civil engineering. He was a member of Charter Club, active in the Skeet Club, and on the pistol team.

In 1953 he married Elizabeth “Betsy” Coles. He spent a year studying architecture at Yale and three years in architecture, city planning, and art history at Penn. The family moved to Villanova in 1954. Following his initial years as a builder in the 1950s and 1960s, he transitioned into a marine artist specializing in square-rigger ships.

Jim had a stroke in 2009 and died April 26, 2018. He was predeceased by his brother, Bill. Jim is survived by his wife, Betsy; their children Kristin, William ’78, James, and Elizabeth; and four grandchildren.