Shirley James

Shirley went home to the Lord on Tuesday morning, July 18, 2017 at the Rose Arbor Hospice Residence in Kalamazoo, MI. Shirley was born at home on September 3, 1941 the daughter of Roscoe W. "Moe" and Emma E. Clark of Kalamazoo, MI. She attended Woodward Elementary and Kalamazoo Central High School. Shirley was a resident of the Kalamazoo area with her husband Walter F. "Fred" James. She and Fred celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary on November 22, 2016. However, she has known and loved Fred since she was 8 years old. She was a proud, devoted, loving mother to Timothy S. "TJ" (Shelly) James of Lake City, MI and Julie (Chas) Peake of Portage, MI; 3 grandsons, Timothy S. James II, Jacob C. James, Jackson J. Peake all of Portage; great-grandson, Caiden Arecena; brothers and sisters, John Clark and Terry Clark of Kalamazoo, Robert "Bucky" Clark of Mattawan, Wanda (Wiley) White of Florida, Donna (Donnie) Anselmo of Portage, Bonnie Hanley of Onekema, MI; and numerous nieces and nephews. Shirley was preceded in death by 2 brothers, Roscoe W. Clark, Jr., Everett Clark; and a sister, Norma (August) Hardesty. Shirley retired in 2001 as Head Cook after 25 years of service from Western Michigan University and was a member of Lake Center Bible Church. She enjoyed many crafts, oil painting, gardening, camping, traveling, and animals. Shirley also volunteered countless hours for her children at various churches, schools and activities including a Girl Scout co-leader. She loved her family and friends and enjoyed any type of party or gatherings. Cremation has taken place and Shirley and Fred wish to have their cremains eventually combined as one. A memorial gathering will be held at 2:00pm Saturday, September 9 at the Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Westside Chapel, 3926 South 9th Street. Memorial contributions may be directed to Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan or Twelve Baskets Food Pantry of Portage, MI. To view Shirley's personalized guestbook please visit www.langelands.com.