When James John Lewis Keithley was born on 1 September 1936, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States, his father, John Adam Keithley, was 43 and his mother, Elsie Trienie Johnson, was 34. He lived in Election Precinct 3, Salt Lake, Utah, United States in 1940. He died on 21 March 1987, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States, at the age of 50, and was buried in Sandy, Salt Lake, Utah, United States.