James Alan Burdick was born in Omaha on Oct. 24, 1934. He lived there for a short while, then at the following places: Lansing, Topeka, Wilmette, Ankara, Lawrence, Decatur, Chicago, New York, Fort Dix, Fort Gordon, Bushy Park AFB, Belle Mead, Tom's River, Burien, Winnipeg, Sanford, Warsaw, Gowanda, Bloomington, Jamestown, Millington, Evansville, Henderson, and McDaniels. He was educated at: Walnut Street School, Crane Jr. High, New Trier H.S., James Millikin University, McCormick Theological Seminary, New York University, Kingston-Upon-Thames Art School, Brooklyn College, and The University of Manitoba.