James was born in Bonesteel, South Dakota December 6, 1914 and accompanied his parents in 1916 to Winner, South Dakota where he attended grade school and high school He was senior class president and co-valedictorian of his high school class in 1932. In 1936 he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa and obtained a masters degree in history in 1941 from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was a naval aviator in World War II, serving five and a half years on active duty and remained in the inactive naval reserve until retirement. In 1946 he married Elizabeth Ross Hessler in Chicago, Illinois. They resided in Washington, D.C., where James was on active duty in the Navy Department Bureau of Aeronautics. In 1947 he obtained a law degree from Georgetown University. After resigning from active duty, he was employed as an attorney in the Navy Department Office of General Counsel in Washington, D.C. In 1950 he was transferred to Los Angeles as District Counsel for the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics. In 1957 he obtained a master of laws degree from the University of Southern California. That same year he joined the legal department of The Garrett Corporation, an aerospace company in Los Angles. In 1971, he was one of 3 attorneys appointed as the first United States Magistrate Judges in the United States District Court in Los Angeles, where he served for 17 years, retiring in 1988. He was a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the State Bar of California. In 1997, he and his wife moved from Palos Verdes Estates, where they had resided for 32 years, to Bakersfield to be near their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. He is survived by his daughter, Ellen Solum; son-in-law, Eric Solum; grandson, James Solum; granddaughter, Erica Solum, all of Bear Valley Springs, California; sister, Eileen Snyder of San Marcos, California; brother, Harold Penne of Alexandria, Virginia; 3 nieces and 3 nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Elizabeth, his parents and a sister. Mass of the Christian Burial will be said Friday, December 28, 2007 at 10am at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church for James J. Penne of Bakersfield who passed away December 18, 2007 at the age of 93. Rosary will be recited before the Mass. Visitation will be held Thursday, December 27, from 2pm to 8pm at Hopson-Anspach Family Mortuary. Burial will be on the Hill of Valor at Hillcrest Memorial Park.