Home » Heather Lee James, Dead at 23 from Diabetes
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Regardless of age, diabetes kills.
Heather Lee James, at a James family reunion in Science Hill, Kentucky, Memorial Day 2008
The future of Heather Lee James lay before her. By all appearances, Heather looked to be healthy, and in the bloom of her life. But Heather knew her diagnosis with diabetes could prove a deadly obstruction to her future happiness.
Though she was young, energetic, and vibrant, Heather was encountering problems already.
The disease had begun to impact her so much that Heather no longer trusted herself to live on her own. Heather moved back into the Ohio home of her parents, Richard Lee & Gretchen James.
The safety of her family circle was not enough to stop what diabetes can do.
Diabetes Sudden Impact
The family had plans for the afternoon on which Heather died. Early that morning, Heather announced she wasn’t feeling well. She returned to bed. As the time to leave grew closer, Richard reminded Heather to get ready.
Downstairs, Gretchen heard Heather enter the bathroom and close the door. She then heard a thud. Gretchen went upstairs to the bathroom to see what happened. Heather had locked the door. Gretchen called to Richard for help.
Richard busted through the door to find Heather lying on the floor, lifeless and barely breathing. Gretchen called for the paramedics and ambulance. Richard held Heather in his arms. When the paramedics arrived, Heather was dead.
The paramedics came to the bathroom doorway and saw Richard standing over Heather’s body. They asked several questions about identification and what happened. Richard was anxious. He knew Heather was dead, but he still held hope the paramedics could help. They asked Richard to wait outside the room. He and Gretchen were too much in shock. It never occurred to them the paramedics first thought they might have arrived at a crime scene. That was October 31, 2008.
Family Affliction of Diabetes
Heather’s father, Richard Lee James, at the James family reunion in Science Hill, Kentucky, Memorial Day 2009
The following Memorial Day, Richard, Gretchen, and Heather’s brother Randy Michael James, drove south to Science Hill, Kentucky for their annual family reunion. Richard remained speechless and numb throughout the day. Everywhere he looked was the reminder of Heather’s presence at the same reunion the year before.
Richard, Gretchen, and Randy returned for the reunion in 2010. Richard finally opened up to tell the story of his daughter’s tragic death. Richard appeared much thinner than he was in years past. He confirmed he was on a diet and exercise program. He had lost 70 pounds. He planned to continue and lose more.
Surprisingly, Richard lifted the backside of his shirt, clear to his neck. There, on his right shoulder, was a tattoo of Heather, as accurate a depiction of Heather as a photo taken of her two years before. Diabetes had stolen Heather from him, but it could not steal his love for her. Richard insured Heather would be with him until the day he dies.
Tattoo of Heather Lee James on the shoulder of her father, Richard Lee James
SLAVE TRADERS AMONG OUR JAMES FAMILY . . . For a decade Stray Leaves has been researching this most distressing discovery. Finally, it’s time to bring this story to light. There’s much to report. The entire story will take time to tell. As we begin, we are also compelled to reconcile what this history means for us. More specifically for those who are now known to descend from these slave traders, whom it can be assumed never knew of this element of their ancestry, but also for the James family as a whole. The resolution will not come easy. … See MoreSee Less
I ran a DNA test on all the James names I could find in these stories and didn't get 1 DNA match. My DNA is closer to Jesse than that James line is. I am looking into it being through Robert Thomason (step grandfather of Jesse Woodson James) and Julia Ann Singleton (Aunt to Jesse Woodson James).
"In the middle of 1864, Captain Jason W. James was on scouting duty in the southern part of Madison Parish. About eight o'clock one morning he and his company arrived at the Plantation home of Hr. Joshua James on Roundaway Bayou, who also owned the Ione Plantation in Tensas Parish."
You will have to read the rest. I am not posting it here. 😲 😲 😲
sites.rootsweb.com/~lamadiso/articles/ward/chap05.htm
And I do believe this James line is connected to Lucille Ball.
And I am a descendant of Elizabeth Woodson Thomas. Wife of Captain Edmund King.
I am also showing DNA matches to the James grandparents of Jesse Woodson James and all 8 of his great grandparents. This is what I need help figuring out.
All of my James DNA matches will be in the replies to this comment. In this screenshot they are all the white ones
The sons of Colonial Edmund King.
I am a descendant of Mary Joicy who was widow Woodson, mother of Elizabeth Woodson Thomas.
By the way I am not a Kerrigan by DNA. I am a Carrigan. Civil War name change. Descendant of William Michael Carrigan and Nancy Holt. Nancy Holt was the daughter of Michael Holt III and Rachel Rainey.
youtu.be/IsK2eSTVW8A
FIND-A-GRAVE BLUNDERS LEAVE JAMES FAMILY HOWLING . . . Can you spot the errata in this Find a Grave post for the grandfather of Frank & Jesse James? The most glaring deception is the photograph!
History tells us the photograph was invented about the time John M. James was dying. Neither history, nor the administrator of this posting, Charlotte Raley McConaha, can tell us is how photographic technology made its way from France to the distant American frontier to take a photo of John M. James, months before his demise.
Another imprecise miscalculation in this post is the attribution of the middle name “Martin” to John M. James. The name never has been proved by evidence. To guess the name is unreliable and wrong. … See MoreSee Less
A CANOPY NOW PROTECTS HISTORIC CHOCTAW ACADEMY . . . Preservation efforts continue outside Georgetown in Scott County, Kentucky, where four members of our James family attended this school for Indians between 1826 and 1836.
The four boys who were schooled here were the Choctaw and Chickasaw sons of Benjamin James “of the Choctaw” and his sister Susannah James. Benjamin and Susannah were children of the lawyer and Indian trader Benjamin James Sr. and his Choctaw spouse.
Robert McDonald “R.M.” Jones was the first to enroll in Choctaw Academy in 1826. He was followed in 1828 by Daugherty Winchester Colbert. The brothers Johnny and George James attended the Academy from 1831 to 1836.
You can click on the names of some of the people in the cemetery and it will take you to a story about that person. Chiefs.
My grandmother was Katherine Elizabeth Meredith. The black outlaws that rode with the gang… I do believe they were black Choctaws.
youtu.be/c9BASx3ZKKs
Kerrigan Rd.
My great grandfather was Michael William Kerrigan. His 2nd wife was Susan Trahern. She was Choctaw. While researching her, I came across this. Notice the names in the cemetery. A James family is buried there.
sites.rootsweb.com/~okleflor/cemetery/trahern_station.htm
JAMES-YOUNGER GANG TO CLOSE . . . Sad news as Danny Urban, former President of the J-Y Gang, posted to Facebook that the organization is about to disband. Here’s the statement: "It is a sad year for us in the Gang. Since I originally posted this, we have lost members due to death. We are down to around 30, but the Board has decided to shut the Gang down at the end of the year. Donate all of our monies to Non-Profits around the country that are history related in the areas that the real Gang had robbed, etc. Two of our members will be taking over the website and they plan on keeping it going." The photo below is of yours truly in 2002 at the family reunion with some great-grandchildren of Jesse James. The 2017 logo is from the last meeting of the Gang that I helped to organize. … See MoreSee Less