James E. Rowley was born on April 8, 1926, in Tarenturn, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Aliquippa High School in 1944 and attended both Geneva College and the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Rowley served as a Private First Class in the US Army during World War II. When he returned home, Rowley married Ruth Ann Agnew of Hopewell Township.
He continued his education by obtaining his undergraduate degree from Washington & Jefferson College (1951), and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (1955). In 1966, Governor William Scranton appointed Rowley to bench on the new Fourth Judicial seat (Beaver County). He was elected to 10-year terms in both 1967 and 1977. In November of 1981 Judge Rowley ascended to the Appellate Courts, when he began serving his full term on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania on January 4, 1982. On December 18, 1990, Judge Rowley was elected President Judge of Superior Court for a 5-year term. He has received numerous awards, such as: Doctor of Laws from Washington & Jefferson College, George Ross Award from Lancaster County, and the Liberty Bell Award from the Beaver County Bar Association.
In 1996, President Judge Emeritus Rowley returned to the Beaver County Court of Common Pleas as a Senior Judge until his death on July 20, 2004 at the age of 78.