When Jim Mann, Dr. James Mann to you, was in 6th grade, his teacher said he was “sharp and a leader” and quickly skipped him to 7th grade. “This was OK except it made the other students jealous, and they bullied me.” There’s no more bullying for this wonderful father, husband, doctor, friend and neighbor.
Born in Pensacola, FL., Jim was one of four Mann children and all were achievers. College was not an option; it was an expectation. His sister Dr. Christine Darden in later years was a “Hidden Figure” at NASA “and received a whole lot of admiration from the family–and country with the Hidden Figures movie.”
During high school, Jim was sent to live with an aunt to finish high school in New Jersey. “It was a good change for me to be in a new environment where no one knew I skipped sixth grade! I loved my French and Latin classes, and school was always good for me.”
He headed off to college at Tennessee State University in Nashville.” While in school as the president of his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, he attended a college conference in Ohio. At one of the gatherings standing at a coat rack, the lovely Jocelyn Smith came up. Being the gentleman he is, Jim helped her with coat and “they met cute.” They kept in touch with him hitch-hiking 500 miles to Washington D.C. where Jocelyn was working at Howard University as a histologist. They married on Martha’s Vineyard after he graduated from college as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force.
Jim had been accepted to the North Carolina School of Medicine, only the third African American to be accepted, and he took a deferment from the Air Force to attend medical school. After medical school, he then completed a four-year internship at Fitzsimmons Medical Center with a specialty in internal medicine, Jim was the Chief Resident in his final year. While at Fitzsimmons, Jim and Jocelyn had two children, Joan Katrina and James Giffen II, Jamey.
As soon as Jim finished that program, the Air Force scooped him up and sent him to Omaha to the Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha for three years. He moved up the military ladder to 1st Lieutenant to Captain then Major. Following his stint in the Air Force, he had a two-year fellowship in gastroenterology at CU Medical School. He received his certification in both Internal Medicine and in Gastroenterology. After finishing all his training, Jim joined the staff at St. Anthony’s for the next 22 years. In 1991, he became an administrator at St. Anthony’s – no patients but working on quality improvements at the hospital. He then started his own practice – Gastroenterology Associates PC In 1996, the good doctor decided to “hang it up … I knew I was still young, but I wanted to try something different.” Something different was a move into a small business selling nutritional products. The Manns lived in Golden this whole time, close to St. Anthony’s, when one day he saw tracks in the snow of a wild animal – a mountain lion. It was at this point, his wife decided they would move back into Denver.
“My wife Jocelyn and daughter were driving through Lowry, found the model home, toured and decided, ‘This was the place!’” And it has been for 20 years. And what works out here for him? “We take visitors to the Wings Museum, lunch at the Beer Garden, like the Officer’s Club, use the Senior Planet, go to the lecture series–this a great place.” Plus medical and dental providers are nearby. And it’s close to golf courses where he is a winning golfer with a stack of trophies in his office. “But really, this is a perfect place for biking and walking.” Lowry has proved to be a good place to land, and no mountain lion tracks on his lawn – yet.
This MANN is an inspirational one, a great doctor, father, grandfather, and great grandfather to many and like his famous sister (the Hidden Figure from NASA) has been a hidden figure here in Lowry. Stop him on walk and say hello. He will make your day. And you will make his
His daughter Joan Katrina unfortunately died at age 40 in 2020; his wife died two years later after 67 years of marriage. This has been difficult, but his family of the original two kids, six grandkids and six great grandchildren surround him now and provide him comfort.
He had a back issue earlier this year, but it sure hasn’t slowed him down. Recently at his 90th birthday, a party hall was full of balloons, roses and friends and a lot of family helping him move into this next decade. His granddaughter was celebrating her 40th birthday, so the family continues to enjoy their time together. As the patriarch of the family, he leads the family in the right direction of success. He’s a MANN among men with a life well-lived: “God put me on earth for a purpose and gave me a lot of gifts celebrating 1,080 months, 4,695 weeks, 32,872 days, 788,924 hours and 47,735,428 minutes of life.” It’s printed on a blanket he received for his 90th birthday and at 90, he can almost recite his 90 years!
Meet Your Lowry Neighbors is a monthly feature written by our intrepid reporter Sally Kurtzman, who knows everyone in our community. If you have a suggestion for a Meet Your Lowry Neighbors, please send us an email to connect@lowryunitedneighborhoods.org.