TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
James H. Vance III 1942–2017 Longtime Washington D.C. Newscaster
J ames “Jim” Howard Vance, III entered the Chapter Invisible on July 22, 2017 at the age of 75. "Washington loved Jim Vance," said Bob Ryan, a long- time colleague of Vance at Washing- ton, D.C.’s NBC4 TV station. Longtime award-winning Washing- ton, D.C. newscaster Jim Vance was beloved and admired by Washing- tonians for his four decades broad- casting Washington, D.C. news, interviewing numerous local and national figures including former President Barack Obama and serv- ing as a role model for generations of aspiring TV news journalists of color. Personally, he was known for his love of: family, friends, jazz music, Harley Davidson motorcycles, NFL Washington Redskins and fishing which led him to become fish- ing buddies with former President George H. W. Bush. Characterized
by the Washington Post as “the dean of Washington news anchors” and was the region’s longest television news anchor, this Kappa Man led an extraordinary life which started very modestly in Ardmore, PA and grew into an iconic figure in the Washington, D.C. area. The announcement of Vance’s passing drew numerous accolades and remem- brances from his longtime viewers, pro- fessional colleagues, friends, mentees, as well as local and national political figures. The MLB Washington Nationals held a moment of silence for Vance prior its baseball game on July 25, 2017. He was born James on January 11, 1942 to the late Eleanor and James Howard Vance, Jr., Vance was raised in Ardmore, PA. Vance’s father worked in the family’s plumbing business and unfortunately died when Vance was 9 years old. Vance’s mother subse- quently made arrangements for him
to be raised by grandparents, aunts, and uncles. He played football at Lower Merion High School and after graduating from high school, Vance attended Cheney State College (now Cheney University) located in Cheney, PA where he played end on the football team. According to Vance, he thought he would follow his grandfather into the plumbing business however his family encour- aged him to attend college. While at Cheney, he was initiated into Kappa Alpha Psi® as a proud member of the “Soulful 7” Spring 1961 line at the Gamma Omega Chapter. As a college student, he became life-long friends with fellow Cheney student and future longtime CBS contributor and “60 Minutes” correspondent the late Ed Bradley. He graduated from Cheney University in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in secondary educa- tion.
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