Carmine Nadine James

Carmine Nadine James was born in Stonega, Virginia on October 30, 1930 to Ivory and Gertrude Wells, one of seven children, two of whom , Dorothy and Bobby, died as babies. She passed away on February 8, 2022 in Frederick, Maryland. Sisters Bernice, Virginia and Betty Jo predeceased her. Her remaining sibling, brother Jessie, became her closest family connection for many years.

Going always by the name Nadine, she overcame the many challenges of growing up in the coal mining Appalachian area and practiced extreme cleanliness and neatness ever after in her home and on her person. It was a trademark of Aunt Nadine and all her family knew to be mindful of that to avoid making any kind of mess!

She was married twice, first at only age 17 to Lester Mullins who was ill and died in about one year. She married Leonard James in 1950, a brother to Bernice's husband Jessie, creating a very tight family bond. She had a special friendship with Arnie Abrahamson for several years before his death with Parkinson's disease. Nadine always loved decorating her home and was very talented at a variety of crafts. Most family members have special cards that she made with her drawings and dried flowers. Nadine lived in the Leisure World community for over 20 years and had been in Edenton Assisted Living community for the past two years.

Aside from her artistry, her family ties and church relations were of great importance to her. She was a member of the Rockville Assembly of God for quite a long time and so enjoyed singing in the choir as well as the solo arrangements she wrote herself. Her deep faith has sustained her through breast cancer and the last two very difficult years, including progressive dementia. She was not blessed with children but she and Leonard counted over 30 nieces and nephews. At all family gatherings, we knew that "Aunt Ninny" would be there!

She did not have the gift of sufficient formal education and she experienced numerous disadvantages and losses, but more than made up for it in determination, thriftiness and common sense. Rest well, good and faithful servant.

Friends may call at DeVol Funeral Home, 10 E. Deer Park Drive, Gaithersburg, MD on Saturday, February 19, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. where a service will be he held at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at Parklawn Memorial Park, Rockville, MD.