James D. Van Horne was born on a farm near Manson, Iowa on August 7, 1893.  He attended Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa with chemistry as a major and graduated in 1917 with a B.A. degree.  The University of Southern California awarded him a Masters degree in Education in 1929.  Additional graduate work was done at USC and the University of California at Berkeley.

            After teaching science and mathematics in Iowa high schools, he went to New Mexico.  There he coached and taught at Alamogordo High School.  In 1925, he began his thirty-four year career with the Tucson Public Schools as a chemistry instructor at Tucson High.  In addition, he assisted in the coaching of football and basketball teams for several years.  In 1927, he was appointed head track coach.  During the years to follow, his teams won thirteen Arizona state championships.  The AAA Conference for the promotion of Better High School Athletics  awarded him a certificate of appreciation.  In 1968, the Arizona high school track coaches elected him as one of the first three members of their Hall of Fame. 

            Mr. Van Horne secured a leave of absence to serve in the United States Marine Corps during Word War II.  In 1945, he resumed his teaching and coaching at Tucson High School where in 1953  he became Dean of Boys.  In 1954, he was appointed Assistant Principal and Athletic Director of Pueblo High School.  At Pueblo,  he had student activities as his particular field with an emphasis on student government.  Through the rapid growth of Pueblo High School, he continued in that capacity until retirement in 1959.

  After retirement, he became involved in various civic affairs.  For two years, he worked with the Tucson Baseball Commission on ticket sales for the Cleveland Indians’ spring training schedule.  He was closely associated with the Retired Teachers Organization, serving as Secretary for the Arizona State Association, and for four years as Arizona State Director for the National Retired Teachers Association.  He was a member of both the NRTA and the Arizona Education Association.  He also served on the Tucson Unified School District Board of Education.