"ALL day and ALL night Angels are watching over the James Family"

"You taught me everything and everything you've given me
I'll always keep it inside, You're the driving force in my life,

And no one else can be, What you have been to me, you will always be
You will always be the girl, In my life for all times

Mama, you know I love you, Mama, you're the queen of my heart ..."

M – Magnificent A –Authentic R –Radiant Y –Yielded F –Faithful R –Resilient A – Abiding N –Nurturing C –Compassionate E –Empathetic S –Strong

The beloved Matriarch, agricultural entrepreneur, and faithful servant of God, Mother Mary Frances Perry James slipped peacefully into the arms of her Heavenly Father, during the early morning hours of Tuesday, September 2, 2025. Mother Mary Frances James was the daughter of the late Benjamin and Mary Perry and the devoted wife of the late L. Junior James, Sr.

Mother James matriculated through the Pasquotank County School System and graduated from P.W. Moore School. During this time is when she began cultivating the resilience and wisdom that would guide her throughout life. Upon graduation she moved to Perquimans County and met the love of her life the now late L. Junior James, Sr. Together they built a strong and loving family, raising seventeen loving children.

Mother James was a pillar of her community-a woman of unshakeable faith, tireless work ethic, and profound compassion. During a time of limited opportunity, she broke barriers and gained respect across generations. She not only managed farmland that provided assistance and employment for many surrounding counties. Her leadership extended beyond the soil; she was a natural cultivator of both land and lives. Mother James was a cornerstone of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith in Elizabeth City, where she served faithfully for decades. As the esteemed "Mother of the Church", her gentle guidance, fervent prayers, and steadfast holiness inspired all who knew her.

Besides her parents and husband she was preceded in death by her sister Addie Copeland and her best friend Frances James "Snoop".

The James Family will celebrate a life well lived on Thursday, September 11, 2025 from 5:00-7:00 PM with public viewing at the Evangelical Methodist Church in Elizabeth City, NC. On Friday, the 12th day of September at eleven o'clock in the morning the Celebration of Life Service for Mother Mary Frances will take place at the Evangelical Methodist Church with Bro. Roscoe James, Jr bringing forth words of comfort to the family. Following the Celebration of Life Service, the James family will journey to the Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery to lay their beloved mother, grandmother, aunt and friend to rest in the sepulcher, next to her husband.

Mother James leaves ninety-six years of beloved memories to her seventeen devoted children-Ledell, Melvin (Pearl), Cecil (Vanessa), Carlton (Lavonne), Joyce, Larry (Rosma), Calvin (Ana), Mary, Evelyn, Vivian, L. Junior (Robin), Barbara Dance (William), Phyllis Holliman (Robert), Sandy, Alton (Virginia), Garry (Robin) and Daryl (Fa'aliliu); thirty-one loving grandchildren; forty-three great grandchildren who will carry forward her legacy; three devoted sisters in-law-Jennie Freshwater, Louise James and Armese James; her fur baby-Pookie; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Mother Mary Frances Perry James' family honored her personal request by entrusting the team of Dennis J. Stallings Memorial Funeral Home of Gatesville, NC to serve them during their time of bereavement. DJSMFH professional team will assist the James Family during their hours of bereavement and beyond through unprecedented, sincere, heartfelt, compassionate and detailed personalized services catered to their wishes and desires. Please continue to uplift the immediate family and all connected families of Mother Mary Frances James through words of comfort, telephone calls/text messages, prayers, "virtual" hugs, thoughts or even just a smile.

"All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children." - Isaiah 54:13