Robison B. "Rob" James

Robison B. "Rob" James, 92, passed away peacefully on February 8, 2024. Born in Dade City, Florida, Rob grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Rob’s life was grounded in a bedrock faith and characterized by an irrepressible optimism. As a boy he delivered newspapers, a career ending only when he accepted his first church ministry at age 20. He graduated from the University of Alabama, where he was first chair trumpet in “The Million Dollar Band,” then attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Rotary Fellowship took him to the University of Edinburgh in 1955-56. Returning to the U.S. on the ocean liner Liberté, he met Anne Marple, a Connecticut Yankee, when they filled in for the band, he on trumpet and she on piano. Their shipboard collaboration ultimately led to a long and happy marriage. After a year’s ministry in Birmingham, Alabama, Rob entered Duke University, where he earned his Ph.D. In 1962 he joined the faculty of the University of Richmond and taught courses in biblical scholarship, theology, and ethics until his retirement in 2000. A lifelong academic interest in the theology of Paul Tillich resulted in the publication of more than 50 articles and books, including Tillich and World Religions (2003), and he served as president of the North American Paul Tillich Society. Another longtime interest—in politics—led him to run for public office in 1975. Rob considered it among his greatest honors to have served in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Henrico County. Through four terms, he relished conversations with constituents and delved into the details of legislation. When quizzed on his ability to reconcile two seemingly disparate disciplines, Rob penned a pamphlet entitled “The Ethics of Politics” and urged students to debate thorny questions such as how to engage in ethical compromise. Rob held an abiding conviction that the quest to serve what is good and the drive to pursue what is possible create a tension that is essential to a vibrant democracy. A cradle Southern Baptist and son of a Baptist minister, Rob cared deeply about religious freedoms and fought the takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention by fundamentalism in the 1980s, co-authoring The Unfettered Word (1987; rev. 1994), The Takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention (1989), and Beyond the Impasse (1992). Rob’s passion for music spanned his life. In 1983 a Dixieland band of UR professors was forming, and Rob dusted off his cornet to join the Doctors of Jazz, with whom he played and toured over the next 40 years. In retirement Rob continued his writing and research, his enthusiastic music making, and his engagement with politics. He charmed children and grandchildren with his stories, songs, and humor. His devotion to Anne, his partner in life, love, and music, was evident. Rob was preceded in death by his parents, Rev. W.K.E. and Kathrina Brown James, and siblings William James, Katherine J. Miller, Elizabeth J. Moffitt, and Marion J. Bryan. He is survived by Anne Marple James, his wife of 64 years; daughters Sara James Butcher and husband Andrew, Elizabeth James Gallagher and husband John, and Susan James Frye and husband Danny; grandchildren Sophie and Jacqui Butcher, and Sebastian, Hattie, and Gigi Frye; and his brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews. A memorial service will be held at River Road Church, Baptist, on March 11, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial contributions to River Road Church, Baptist, Cedarfield Samaritan Fund, or Feed More.