James Patrick Schroder was born on June 21, 1944 to William J. and Edna (Riordan) Schroder in San Francisco. He attended St. Stephen, Riordan, C.C.S.F. and the University of San Francisco where he graduated in Business. While at USF, he played first position on the golf team. His "scratch" handicap led him to third place in the U.S. Amateur Golf Tournament, the All-Navy Golf Team, and Club Champion while as a member of Silverado Country Club.
During the Vietnam Conflict, Jim served as a Navy Corpsman. After the Navy, he was a salesman for several pharmaceutical companies, and then sold real estate in the Napa area (SFChronicle).
