Retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel

James Monroe Sowell, Jr., Esq.

May 10, 1946 – August 21, 2020

Attorney James Monroe Sowell, Jr. was born and raised in Jasper, Florida, the son of James Monroe Sowell, Sr., and Cora Lee Sowell.

A 1964 graduate of J.R.E. Lee High School in Jasper, Sowell was a three-time letterman, valedictorian, president of his class, and as a child he received his religious education at New Bethel AME Church. Sowell pursued his education at Florida A&M University (FAMU) where he continued to exemplify excellence as a ROTC student, a member of the Beta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, and was awarded "Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges". While at FAMU, he met his wife, Lutricia Ann Thompson (deceased) from Leesburg, Florida. After he graduated from FAMU in 1968, he was commissioned as an Army officer and served in Vietnam.

In 1974, James graduated from the University of Florida College of Law, becoming one of the university's first 20 Black law school graduates. He made Orlando, Florida home and became the first Black assistant public defender in Orange County and is listed as one of the first 100 Black lawyers in the state of Florida. During law school, he worked as a security guard at the Florida Farm Bureau Federation, while also serving as an Army Reservist. He returned to active duty Army after practicing law in Orlando for nearly a decade. He was a trailblazer who served his country and retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel, then moved back to Orlando in 1994 to start his own law practice. In Orlando, he was active in his community by serving as a coach for Jackie Robinson Little League, Pine Hills Pop Warner, and was a member of the Church at the Cross.

As a child, James grew up picking tobacco in Jasper, and was proud to be from a small town in Florida. Because of the laws in place when he was growing up, he went to segregated schools his entire life until he attended law school after Vietnam. He never complained or lamented about the privileges that were not afforded to him; he simply made a way and quietly excelled. His life is proof of the exceptional tradition of outstanding Floridians from small towns who led by example in the face of adversity.

James was a Christian who instilled in his children the importance of faith, education, and making a positive impact in the world. As a Florida native, he raised his children to cherish the family's small town roots, fight for the downtrodden, and remember the least among us.

He leaves precious memories with his children James Monroe Sowell, III and his wife Tasha, Janis Lanai Simmons and her husband Jordan, Lisa Sowell, Jamal Allen Sowell, Jon Marcus Sowell; as well as siblings Wilma Jane Cook, Annie Ruth Sowell, Jerome (Judo) Sowell (deceased), and godbrother Brendon (Pep) Laster; grandchildren Mia Simmons, Julien Sowell, Craigory Powell, Edwin Powell, Kylesia Powell, and nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of loved ones.