Frances James

Frances M James (nee White) Frances M James, 74, died after a brief illness at Cleveland Clinic Akron General VNS Hospice. She was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio to parents Harold F White and E Jeannette Murie White. During World War II while her father served in the European Theater, she lived with her mother and maternal grandparents in Mt Pleasant, Ohio. She was raised in Akron and graduated from Akron Buchtel High School in 1962. She remained a strong proponent of public education her entire life. She graduated with a BA, cum laude from Allegheny College, Meadville, PA. Her senior honors thesis, an original history of the Ku Klux Klan in Akron, Ohio had a full page review in The Akron Beacon Journal in 1966. She began her career as a high school history teacher. She then was an administrative assistant at the Akron Board of Education. She earned a J.D. degree from The University of Akron School of Law. She briefly practiced law privately, later serving as an assistant prosecutor in Summit County and later as a Magistrate in the Juvenile Court under Judge Judith Hunter. She was a member of the Board of The University of Akron Foundation. She volunteered at Hower House and Mustill Store. She was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She was predeceased by her husband of 40 years William C James and her parents Judge Harold F White and E Jeannette White. She is survived by her brother Dr Harold A White and nephews Andrew, Ethan and James White of Akron; her sister Dr Susan White Braunstein (Dr Ethan Braunstein) of Flagstaff, AZ; her aunt Renee Strainge of Fairfield CT; uncle Dr Richard A Murie of Traverse City, MI; and many cousins. Visitation will be at the Hummel Funeral Home, 3475 Copley Road, Copley, Ohio, 44321 on Saturday, September 15, from 1pm to 4pm. Memorial gifts may be made to the Frances M James Fund at the Akron Community Foundation. http://www.akroncf.org/give/JamesFund or mailed to ACF/ Frances M James Fund at Frances M James Fund Akron Community Foundation, 345 W. Cedar St., Akron, OH 44307 .