- Date Of Birth: October 5, 1920
- Date Of Death: September 19, 2017
- State: Maryland
Mrs. Hannie Mae James was born in Hustle, Virginia in 1920 to Willie and Julia Ware. She was the youngest of three children. In her early years, she attended school in Hustle, later moving to Washington, DC to complete her education. In 1936, she married Edward D. Outlaw. Even though the marriage dissolved, it yielded four beautiful children.
Naturally independent and avant-garde, Hannie found herself the consummate single mother years before society deemed it an acceptable lifestyle. Through the years, she worked several jobs at once (sometimes three shifts) to support her young daughters. Her strong work ethic led her to both domestic and clerical positions.
One day one of her co-workers impressed upon her that she would be an excellent PBX operator. She followed through with this career advice and secured this position. She received praise for her friendly, helpful personality in interacting with people through, what was then, a customer service oriented telecommunications system. She continued work in this capacity for many years before retiring in 1982.
In November 1965, she married Jesse James. The devoted couple had many years of happiness together. Upon Jesse’s retirement, they fulfilled their dream of purchasing a home in South Carolina in 1996, remaining there until his death in 2009. After his death, her health began deteriorating and she returned to Maryland to be with her family.
Still fiercely independent, she insisted on living alone upon her return. She did that until her health just would not allow her to do so any longer. Following some stays in hospitals and nursing homes, she ultimately relinquished some of her self-sufficiency and settled at Woodside Center in Silver Spring, MD (currently Regency Care of Silver Spring) in July 2011 where her caregivers always commented on her noteworthy feistiness well into in her final months.
For most of her life Hannie had a savvy command of politics. She loved to talk the political intrigue of the day, critique various politicians and social norms, and in her final years could still argue the merits of the Democratic Party. She also had a fondness for puzzles and worked them often before her eyesight challenged her ability to complete them. She enjoyed different music genres with Blues and Country being her favorites, and she was the ultimate wrestling fan.
Blessed with class, sophistication, and style, Hannie had a unique physical and spiritual presence that made everyone aware she had entered the room. She passed down this incomparable manner to her daughters and grandchildren. Her offspring will never forget how she showered them with an abundance of love and regaled them with family history even when her ability to recall everything sometimes failed.
Her spiritual gifts were fortified by her relationship with God. Hannie found Jesus Christ early in her life and became a devout member of several churches throughout her life, including the New St. Paul Greater Baptist Church in Washington DC, and First Baptist Church of Sumter in South Carolina. During the last years of her life, she joined the First Baptist Church of Ken Gar, Kensington, MD until she was too ill to attend.
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