Freddie James

Freddie Fairfax James was born at the Summerton Infirmary in Summerton, South Carolina, on May 1, 1927. His mother and baby sister had been moved to the infirmary due to the malaria outbreak in the home. His parents’ names were Rufus James and Lucy Ragins James. The James family of Pinewood, South Carolina, was a large, loving, and blended family of seventeen children, and they operated a farm. Freddie was the fourteenth child of Rufus and the sixth child born to the union of Rufus and Lucy. He attended the local public schools and the New Hope African Methodist Episcopal Church in Clarendon County, South Carolina, until the age of 16. Thinking he may be drafted into the war like his brothers, he “ran” to Wilmington, North Carolina. It
is possible that “run” started his love of being on the road.

Not much is known about his adventures in Wilmington, North Carolina. He migrated to Columbus, Ohio, in the early 1950s. We do know that he was married prior to meeting his wife of 66 years, Mary Lo (Shivers) James.

Freddie met Sister Shivers at the Gay Street Baptist Church where they courted for two years and then married on June 5, 1953. They had five daughters. One of James’ best family moments was when his only grandson, Justin, was born on James’ birthday in May of 1991. He proudly proclaimed, “He’s just in time.”

In the mid-1950s, Brother James joined the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church where he served as a deacon, was ordained an elder, sang in the male chorus, and was a faithful Sabbath school participant. He believed you should be at church when the doors were open, be on time for Sabbath school, and serve wherever you are called.

Brother James was the original church van volunteer, picking up anyone who gave him a call in the family’s wood-paneled station wagon. He was a firm believer of Seventh-day Adventist Christian Education, sending all five daughters and one granddaughter to Pine Forge Academy and the eldest daughters to Oakwood College.

Brother James loved people—he never met a stranger. He loved to study his Bible, the Bible commentaries, and other denominational books. He planted seeds on the family farm and continued planting seeds in everyone he met. He would say, “Come, let’s go to church. Need a ride? I’ll pick you up. Be ready at 8 o’clock.” He loved to talk about the Bible, basketball, football, trucks, his trips, and tell the corniest dad jokes of all time! But every once in a while, he would have some really quirky but intuitive sayings like, “If you tell everything you know, then folks know twice more than you.” If he had it to give, he’d give it to you. If he knew where you lived or had your phone number, SURPRISE, he would show up at your front door or call you when he was in town.

Brother James did own a trash truck and Sister James ran the business. He eventually became a short- and long-haul truck driver, both in and out of Ohio for many, many years. At one time, he was a literature evangelist for the Allegheny West Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 

When Allegheny West Conference bought the campground in Thornville, Ohio, Brother and Sister James were among the first members to purchase a camper on the new grounds. To mark their place, Brother James found a plow, attached a galvanized sign with “James Place” on it, and added a large bell to the plow. Then he cemented the whole thing in place, much to his wife’s displeasure. LOL... It may still be up there even today!

Most of all, Freddie James always had a smile for you! He was very, very slow to anger or annoyance and quick with a dry joke or a story. His had a simple yet full life. He passed away peacefully, Sabbath morning, August 20, 2022, at the Taylor Springs Health Campus in Gahanna, Ohio, at the age of 95. He was the last of his siblings and his familial generation.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Rufus James and Lucy Ragins James; wife, Mary James; granddaughters, Christina Bell and Tiffany Early; and his only brother-in-law, James Shivers.

Left to carry on are: his daughters, Connie J. Early, Freda A. James, Teresa L. Bell (Willie), Robin D. London, and Renelda “Bunnie” James-Mason; grandchildren, Kimberly, Jessica, and Justin Bell, and Rachelle James-Mason; great-grandchildren, Michael Early, Jadda Berry, Alexis and Jeremiah Bell, and Aaliyah and Delreco Philips; sisters-in-law, Agnes James and Clara Shivers; and a host of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, adopted family members, close family friends, many, many friends, church members, and lastly, his caregivers who were
fortunate to know him, even if only for a short while.

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