Emma Jean James

Our dear Mother, Jean James of Athens, Texas has left this life to join her Heavenly Father, and those that have gone before her. She has left life as she has known it for 91 years, and now abides in the Heavenly Realm.

Born Emma Jean Brown, September 7, 1925 in Munday, to Emma and Oscar Brown.

Emma Jean Brown and Gerald C. James married on June 20, 1944 and began their long life together. They were married for 62 happy years until Daddy's death in 2006.

Mother was busy raising her family, and it took awhile, but eventually she received her teaching degree. She began a long career of teaching English in all grade levels. In the 80's, she retired after teaching 30 plus years. In all those years she touched the lives of literally thousands of young people. This was not only with her teaching English, but also the lessons of life. She always had an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, and a heart to care.

Mother was an avid letter writer. Throughout her life she had countless pen pals. To our knowledge, she never met one of them in person.

She is survived by two daughters and their husbands Lanna and Paul Primm and Marsha and Jim Shelton. Jean had four grandchildren with their own families, Monty and Rosemary Wynn, sons Aiden and Owen; Emily and Brent Adkisson, son Samuel; Matt and Beth Shelton, children Zachary Jackson, Chelsea and Maggie Shelton; Meg Lapeyrouse, and Wyatt Shelton. Also, granddaughter Alexa and Ryan McAnally, children Macy, Garrett, Kate and Georgia McAnally.

Mother was pre-deceased by her only sibling, a brother, Buddy Brown. They had great times together; laughing and telling stories of growing up with sharecropper parents. Their parents moved here and there, and living mostly on love. Buddy's wife, Virginia, and two daughters Charla Hendrix and Roxanne Holly have been an ongoing source of love and devotion to Mother.

There are other relatives she leaves behind; cousins, nieces, nephews that are too many to name here, but each were treasures to her.

For the past four years, our Mother was in the home of and under the care of Melba Edwards and her brother Bob Henry. We want to extend our heartfelt appreciation and love for these angels that called for her as if she was their own. May God richly bless you. Also, we want to thank the Hospice nurses and staff, the Hospice Chaplain who so loved and cared for our Mother.

Ephesians I: 1-10 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Redemption in Christ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

Arrangements have been made by Tyler Memorial Funeral home, West Highway 64, Tyler, Texas. The service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 13, 2017.