Gwendolyn Gaither James

Gwendolyn Gaither James, affectionately known as “Boot”, 82, of Olin, went into her heavenly home on Friday, July 19, 2019. Born on April 1 in Iredell County, she was the daughter of the late Hunter Gaither and Jency Carson Gaither. Gwendolyn worked as a seamstress at Grenadier for several years before becoming self-employed as a seamstress. She was a naturalist and herbalist healer. She loved cooking, baking, and serving food to others. She also enjoyed collecting antiques. At an early age, she became a member of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Hamptonville, where she was a choir member and served on the culinary committee. On May 16, 1954, she married the love of her life, Isadore Junior James, who preceded her in death in 2017. In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her brothers, Frankie Gaither, Charles Gaither, Flake Gaither, Brady Gaither, Hunter Gaither and Opah Gaither and sisters, Beulah Gaither, Raynell Eccles, Mary Ann Gaither Rose, Polka Hunter Gaither, and Lois Wilson. Those left to cherish her memory include her son, Jerry (Gayle) James; daughter, Tammy (Mark) Wellman; brothers, Jack Gaither and Grady (Dorothy) Gaither; sister, Annie Bell Redmon; grandchildren, Travis (Lourdes) James, Kisha (Stephen) James-Jordan, Mariah Wellman, and Makayla Wellman; great-grandchildren, Ashton James and Maxwell James; special friends, Patricia Keath and Lois James, and a host of nieces and nephews who will all miss her dearly. A funeral service will be held in the chapel of Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home on Tuesday, July 23, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Tyrone Redmon and Rev. James A. Boyce officiating. The family will receive friends beginning at 1:00 p.m., one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow at Rocky Creek AME Zion Church Cemetery. The family will be accepting family and friends at the home of Jerry James in the days prior to the service. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.bunchjohnsonfuneralhome.com. Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home is entrusted with the arrangements for Gwendolyn James.