Sharon Ann James

Sharon Ann James, age 76 of Dallas, passed away from metastatic breast cancer at her home on September 6, 2021, surrounded by her loving family. A devoted wife, mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, sister, daughter, and friend, Sharon found her greatest satisfaction in caring for others.

Sharon was born in 1945 in Lakewood, Ohio. Her father was a driver-salesman, and her mother was a secretary. She and her older sister Nancy attended John Marshall High School in Cleveland, where Sharon graduated in 1963. After graduation Sharon attended Kent State University for two years and then went on to The Ohio State University, where she earned a B.S. in Elementary Education in 1967. In the summer of that year, Sharon married Larry G. James, her high school sweetheart. She taught kindergarten through the early years of their marriage, including in Dallas where Larry began his career with Texas Instruments. She and Larry were blessed with sons Keith, born in 1974 in Houston, and David, born in 1977 in Dallas.

Sharon poured her love and energies into motherhood, and throughout the years she made homes in which her family thrived and friends felt welcome. She managed thirteen moves around the country and the world, mostly for Larry’s career with TI—including to Tokyo, where the family lived for seven years. Sharon and Larry finally settled in Dallas in 2004, where the first of their four grandsons was born the next year.

Sharon is survived by Larry, her husband of 54 years; by her son Keith James and his wife Kirsten, of Dallas; by her son David James and his wife Cara, of Austin; by her sister Nancy Kemp and her husband Charles, of Camillus, New York; by cherished grandsons Grayson, Foster, Everett, and Whittaker; and by numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 25 at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home in Dallas and livestreamed on their website.

For those wishing to do so, memorial contributions may be made in Sharon’s name to the North Texas Food Bank, Klyde Warren Park, the Dallas Arboretum, or a charity of their choice.