Feb. 16, 1947 – Aug. 10, 2018

NATCHEZ — Services for Jacqueline “Jackie” Grooms James, 71, of Natchez, who died Friday, Aug. 10, 2018, at Merit Health Natchez, will be 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary Basilica with the Rev. David O’Connor officiating.   
Burial will follow at Bethlehem Baptist Church Cemetery under the direction of Marshall Funeral Home.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until service time Saturday at the church.
Mrs. James was born Feb. 16, 1947, in New Orleans, the only child of Fleming and Emma Grooms.
Affectionately known as “Jackie,” she attended the New Orleans public schools through the ninth grade and earned her high school diploma from Xavier University Preparatory School in 1964. She continued her education in the fall of 1964 by entering Louisiana State University-New Orleans, now known as the University of New Orleans. While there, she was active in a number of organizations, including her sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho Incorporated. The most special encounter during her time there was her acquaintance with a young member of the “Dunlap” recreation club named Charles James. Their friendship would and last even in distance, as Charles would be drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Upon his return from war, this friendship rekindled and eventually became a blessed union — Jackie and Charles married on Sept. 27, 1969, at Historic Second Baptist Church in New Orleans. From this union, three children were born, Ryan Charles, Sybil Andree and Eric Antony.
James was a fervent believer in Christ. In her youth, she worshipped Historic Second Baptist Church, was active in the youth ministry and choir and was baptized at an early age. In her adulthood, she became a member of the Roman Catholic church. She chose Holy Spirit Catholic Church in New Orleans as her church home and remained a member there until her unexpected relocation to Natchez, due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Once settled, she became a member of St. Mary Basilica. She also attended Bethlehem Baptist Church in Hamburg, where Charles serves a deacon.
James was preceded in death by her parents; grandmothers, Susan Breaux and Rosetta Grooms; grandfathers, Melvin Williams and Herbert Grooms; one brother, Charles Fleming Grooms; one son, Ryan Charles James; two nephews, Fleming Anthony Grooms and Kenneth Smoot; one niece, Natalie Cheeks; mother-in-law, Verla Magee James; and brother-in-law, John Lee James.
Survivors include her husband, Charles; two children, Sybil of Houston and Eric and wife, Summer, of Columbus; stepson, Terrell Carter of New Orleans; two sisters-in-law, Pearl Groom of Natchez and Elsie James of Las Vegas; and a number of nieces, nephews, grandchildren, cousins, friends and loved ones.
Her family was the pride and joy of her life.