Born in Gallup, New Mexico to Helen Byrd and T. Beryl Cozby. He had an older sister, Beryl Lynn who was three years his senior. His father was a carpenter by trade and also managed lumber yards. They lived in Pearsall, Stamford and San Angelo, Texas. He went by Jimmy in school and Jim as an adult. Jim attended Stamford, Texas High School through his junior year and then transferred to San Angelo when the family moved. He graduated from San Angelo Central High School with the class of 1960. While in high school, he was active in the school paper, annual staff, band (playing clarinet) and in drama. He was played in several high school plays at both Stamford and San Angelo Central. After high school, he attended San Angelo Junior College, the University of Texas and Hardin Simmons where he obtained his B.A. in English and Education in the spring of 1965. After college, he accepted a teaching position in Odessa at Odessa High School teaching English for the fall of 1965. He taught there until the spring of 1968 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He did his basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas and then AIT in Army Administration at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. After AIT he remained at Fort Benjamin Harrison as an instructor until he was sent to Vietnam. He arrived in Vietnam in July 1969 and was assigned to HQ, USARV, Long Binh where he was assigned to the Awards and Decorations Section for Army serving in Vietnam. He completed his tour in the summer of 1970 and was separated from Army. He was decorated with a Bronze Star for Meritorious Service, and he attained the rank of Specialists 4th Class. He decided not tp return to teaching but thought he would try his hand ats free-lance writing and he moved to New York City with an Army buddy. There for the next 45 years where he authored articles in Reader's Digest and many periodicals. He helped to write screen plays on and off Broadway. He worked in many venues and lived in the same apartment on Hudson Street until his passing. His last venture before retiring was writing booklets and travel information for site seers for the Carnival Cruise Lines. He never married. His last days were spent enjoying the sites and sounds of New York City. He loved waling and visiting friends via emails and feeding the pigeons in the park. He once stated, he loved New York City, everything he needed was within 6 blocks of his apartment.

He is survived by his sister, Beryl Lynn Buttery of Kerrville, Texas. He worked in desktop publishing having worked for Reader's Digest, for International Paper, for NYU and, until he retired, freelance -- publishing a manual for the cruise line association. He was a dear friend to many.