Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019, at Memorial Funeral Home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7, 2019 at the Newman Center on the MU campus, with Fr. Reginald Wolford officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery.
Dr. James was born on Jan. 15, 1939, in Jefferson City to the late Joseph and Maxine Plogsted. On Aug. 25, 1962, she married Ronald James in Jefferson City. He preceded her in death on March 8, 2006. She was a member of the Newman Center.
In 1960 she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Lincoln University. After earning her medical degree from the MU School of Medicine in 1965, she remained at the university for her internship and residency in pediatrics, as well as a National Institutes of Health fellowship in neonatalogy. She completed a research fellowship in perinatalogy at the University of Colorado-Denver before joining the faculty in MU's departments of child health and obstetrics and gynecology as an assistant professor in 1971. She was named professor emeritus in 2007 and continued to work part time in a consulting role for several years after that.
The founder of MU's neonatal-perinatal medicine program who also led the formation of the neonatal transport service, she saved the lives of hundreds of vulnerable newborns during her long career. A number of these grateful families stayed in contact with Dr. James over the years.
For 12 years, she also directed the child health department's education programs, influencing the careers of scores of medical students and resident physicians, many of whom also remained close to her through the years.
In 1995 she traveled to the country of Georgia and spent time training physicians there. Her husband, Ron, along with A Call To Serve International founder Dr. Patricia Blair, created a diabetic education camp for Georgian children modeled after Camp Hickory Hill. She served a term as president of ACTS International and was vice president at the time of her death.
Dr. James was a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and served on the board of Missouri Medicine, the Missouri State Medical Association's Journal, for many years.
In 1982 she became the first recipient of the Young Physician Award bestowed by the MU Medical Alumni Organization, and in 1996 she was awarded its highest honor, the Citation of Merit. She received the MU Alumni Association's Distinguished Faculty Award and the Boone County Medical Society's Doctor of the Year Award.
Survivors include: two children, Susan James (Ryan) and Jason James (Sarah), both of Columbia; two grandchildren, Taylor Freeman and Jedi James; a sister-in-law and caregiver, Kathleene James of Columbia; and several extended family members and friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to A Call To Serve, c/o Memorial Funeral Home, 1217 Business Loop 70 West, Columbia, MO 65202.
