Josephine (Evans) James peacefully entered into eternal rest on Saturday, June 20, 2009, at home in Easton, PA. She was born in Oxford, NC, on May 30, 1950 to the late John Fuller Evans and Irene Chavis Evans. Four of her siblings, Samuel Evans, Mary Evans Woodson, Darnell Evans and George (Ed) Evans, preceded her in death. Jo leaves to cherish her memory and mourn her loss her husband, Robert L. James; her children, Robert L. James, Jr., Dionne A. James and Damien J. James; her "surrogate" children Edward & Kelly Sallie; twin sister, Kat; brothers, Toney and Jerry.
Mrs. Mabel Robinson recommended Jo for a scholarship to study abroad for the summer of 1967. The scholarship was sponsored through a work program in which Jo was a participant. Through that same work program she was interviewed on a radio show at WNJR-FM. Jo earned her FCC license in 1976 and she had and engineered her own music radio show on WJSV-FM on Wednesday nights from 10:00 until midnight. First Baptist Church presented Jo with the Patron of Light award, recognizing her as a legacy of inspiration, in May 2006. In May 2008 First Baptist Church dedicated Jo’s Circle of Love in Carol’s Garden.
Jo was baptized at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Oxford, NC, in 1962 and joined First Baptist Church of Madison in 1985. She was consecrated as Deaconess in 1992 (Vice President). She was the Church Clerk, past member of the Combined Choir, the Missionary Choir, the J.W. Brewster Choir and the Usher Board. She spearheaded the FBC outreach ministry to feed the homeless at Penn Station in Newark, NJ. She was also a member of the Missionary Ministry, the Women’s Ministry, announcements team and a former Sunday School Teacher and transported the children for Sunday School.
Jo was affectionately called Grammy Jo by her “grandkids”, Christian, Johnna, Brianna, Ty and Alex. She was passionate about her family, her church, her job and reading and people were almost as important to her as breathing. She had a great sense of humor and as a kid got the biggest thrill when her father didn’t know if he was speaking to her or her identical twin, Kat.
Jo was a determined individual and one example of that determination is that when Jo was stricken with cancer she was surprised to find that the disease affects women of color, particularly Black women, differently than Caucasians and that there is very little research done in this area. Determined to make a difference she very recently founded Jo’s Hope (www.Jos-Hope.org), a non-profit foundation that will raise funds for cancer research in women of color.
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