Ladonna Louise Huntley James

Ladonna was born in Fort Wayne IN on June 2, 1932, and passed away on March 3, 2026. She graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in English and Speech, and received her master’s degree from St. Francis University in Fort Wayne, IN. After an early career teaching high school English, she chose to stay home to raise her two children while becoming a community volunteer. In 1974 she was asked to serve as the Chairwoman of the Fort Wayne Bicentennial Commission in preparation of the United States of America’s 200th birthday celebration in 1976. A nationally recognized and successful Bicentennial celebration led to many other opportunities and developments for Ladonna. She was the co-founder of the Johnny Appleseed Festival in Fort Wayne in 1975. She was pleased that nearly 50 years later it has grown into one of Fort Wayne’s largest festivals, attracting hundreds of thousands of people every September. In addition to the festival, under her leadership, the Commission also launched the Fort Wayne Sisters Cities program, partnering with its first sister city, Takaoka, Japan, in 1976. She made many trips to Takaoka over the years, both with the Sister City Delegation and by herself. She especially enjoyed taking her daughter Kimberley to the bar that was named after her in Takaoka in appreciation for her efforts on behalf of the Sister City relationship between Takaoka and Fort Wayne.

Huntley James went on to become a well-known leader in the community with a strong history of community activism and volunteerism. After helming the Bicentennial commission, she became the Director of Communications for Fort Wayne Mayor Bob Armstrong. She then spent several years as Director of the Fort Wayne Performing Arts Center and, later, Vice President of Corporate Public Involvement for Lincoln National Corporation (now Lincoln Financial Group).

Of all her accomplishments, she was most proud of her work in the mid-1980s with the late Ian Rolland, then CEO of Lincoln National Corp, to desegregate Fort Wayne Community Schools. She said it was her sense of humanity that drove her to tackle such a divisive and sensitive topic as she always had great compassion for students who were not getting equal or good education. She recognized that the world was not fair for everyone, and this awareness fueled her passion for helping those less fortunate. She was not afraid to “stir the pot” and loved being told that she couldn’t; because invariably she could, and she did.

Ladonna met her husband Bernard James, an Australian, on a solo trip to Rome in 1981. For six years, they maintained a long-distance romance, beginning with their chance encounter at Rome’s Colosseum, meeting annually in various exotic locales around the globe. They married in 1987, and upon her retirement from Lincoln National in 1994, they chose New Bern NC as their new home, dividing their time between downtown New Bern and the beach in Emerald Isle NC. She and Bernard traveled the world for months at a time. Her love of art is evident as her home is filled with art and artifacts from their travels all over the world. In addition to Venice Italy, her favorite places to travel were those countries close to Bernard’s “down under” roots – Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali, New Zealand and Australia. They also loved sailing aboard their 36 ft. sailboat on Lake Michigan and later the waters around New Bern, NC, the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound. Ironically, Ladonna would get seasick on their sailing adventures but nonetheless served as Bernard’s “first Mate”. “After all,” she would say, “He gave up his country for me; I can sail for him”.

Upon Bernard’s death in 2018, She moved back to Fort Wayne to be close to her daughter and her family and lived at The Towne House Retirement Community.

During her professional tenure in Fort Wayne, she served on many Boards in the community, both in the arts with Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, and with many social service agencies, both locally and statewide. She received numerous appointments and awards during this time, including being appointed and commissioned to the Museum and Memorials Board of Trustees by the Office of the Governor, State of Indiana. She received the Helene R. Foellinger Achievement Award from the YWCA for her outstanding contributions by a businesswoman as a role model for others for excellence in profession; she was a Founding Board Member of the Indiana Donors Alliance and was recognized for her commitment to strengthening the profession and practices of philanthropy statewide. She was the first female member of the Fort Wayne Rotary Club downtown at a time when many did not welcome the idea of a woman joining Rotary. Among many awards she received from not-for-profit organizations in Fort Wayne, she was recognized for exceptional service to the Fort Wayne Educational Foundation and the Fort Wayne Urban League recognized Ladonna for her dedicated service and commitment to integrated education and equal opportunity. She received additional commissions from the Office of the Governor of the State of Indiana and several appointments from the Mayor of Fort Wayne.

She was proud to be named a Sagamore of the Wabash by then Governor Evan Bayh of the State of Indiana, the State’s highest honor awarded to an Indiana resident. Her children’s favorite recognition was the Proclamation by then Mayor Robert Armstrong that July 9, 1976 was recognized as “Ladonna Huntley Day” in the city of Fort Wayne, which her family still recognizes every year to celebrate her.

She acted in theatre productions while a student at the University of Michigan, even performing with her college classmate, actor James Earl Jones. She continued to act in local theatre in Fort Wayne, winning five Anthony Awards from the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre in the process. A fun sidenote: Ladonna was a high school speech and debate champion, and the only person to ever beat her in debate was the actor James Dean in a statewide competition.

In her “free time”, she wrote a newspaper column regularly for Fort Wayne Newspapers for many years, and she hosted a weekly radio show on WGL Talk Radio with Bob Jones in the 1990’s.

Ladonna will be missed for her sweet smile and her kindness to everyone. She cherished her special relationships with the staff at The Towne House. She was an avid reader, a loyal MSNBC viewer, followed politics and news closely, loved playing Mah-Jongg, eating dark chocolate and candy, and enjoyed a glass of wine or Canadian Club on the rocks. She was a gifted artist and her oil paintings decorate her daughter’s home. She loved antiquing, searching for “found art” and finding the beauty in many pieces and objects that would be overlooked by most. Her favorite two words were “loving kindness”. She was spiritual and loved philosophy, books of art, practiced creative visualization and respected the writings of Kahlil Gibran. Her biggest joy was her family and spending time with them. Summers spent with her daughter and her family on the southern outer banks of North Carolina were some of her favorite times. More recently she enjoyed spending time at Hamilton Lake at both her son’s lake house and her daughter’s lake house. She was immensely proud of her grandchildren and was grateful for the many vacations they experienced together, especially a two-week trip to Costa Rica where they trekked through rainforests and explored volcanoes when the boys were teenagers. At every visit, the first two questions Ladonna would ask her daughter were “How are the kids?” and “How are my dogs?” referring to Kimberley’s two boxers whom Ladonna adored. She was unfailingly optimistic and made everyone happy just being around her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Clifford Brockmyer and Eva Flannery Brockmyer, one sister, Monabelle Vosmeier, and her beloved husband Bernard Martin James, who passed away unexpectedly in 2018. She is survived by her daughter Kimberley Bastin (Gary) Fort Wayne, and her son, Dr. Tod Huntley (Mollee) Carmel IN; she was a loving Gramma to her grandchildren Dr. Garrett Bastin (Morgan) Fort Wayne, Dr. Grayson Bastin (Lizzie) East Lansing MI, Grant Bastin, Nashville TN, Collier Huntley (Emily) Washington DC, and Olivia Bayar (Navid) Berkely CA; and was thrilled to be Great-Gramma to her four great-grandchildren, Kenton, Camden and Jillian Bastin, and Bryce Christian Bastin.

Preferred memorials are to the Towne House Employee Appreciation Fund. Memorials may be mailed to the BHI Foundation, 8330 Allisonville Pointe Trail, Indianapolis, IN 46250. Please note that the funds are to be designated to the Towne House Employee Appreciation Fund in honor of Ladonna Huntley James. A private Celebration of Life Service is being held for her family.