Miriam Lois James, age 97, of Silver Spring, Maryland, formerly of Taneytown, Maryland, died on Saturday, July 23, 2016 at Laurel Regional Hospital in Laurel, Maryland.

            Born on May 10, 1919 in Baltimore, Maryland, she was the daughter of the late Robert Bruce and Lillian Rose Diamond.  She was predeceased by her husband, Harry Alexander James in 2006.

            Miriam worked as an assistant to the city manager in Clayton, Missouri; was also a secretary for St. Louis County High Schools in Missouri; and secretary to the school principal in Montgomery County elementary school in Maryland.  Her volunteer work began during WWII at the Air Force Filter Center First Fighter Command.  She volunteered as an assistant to the Speech Pathologist for elementary school thru sixth grade, and was a literacy tutor for ESOL in the Montgomery County schools.  She taped textbooks for blind and dyslexic college students, and newspapers and magazines for Washington Ear.  She was a volunteer operator in the physician’s message center for St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri.  She was a Brownie Scout Leader and a 34 year member of the Washington Calligraphers Guild.  Miriam was a resident of the Carroll Vista Retirement Community in Taneytown, MD and currently resided in Riderwood Retirement Community in Silver Spring, MD.

            Surviving her are a daughter, Dr. Karel J. Bouse of Loudon, TN; a sister, Marjorie Seidel of Silver Spring, MD; several nieces and nephews.  The family wants to thank and acknowledge Mrs. James’s care manager, Jill Rosner, and Wendy and Charles Wolf of Total Assistance, Inc (Westminster, MD) for their outstanding care and attention to Mrs. James over the past 4 years.

            A Remembrance Gathering will be held at 3:00 PM on Friday, July 29, 2016 at Riderwood Retirement Community, 3140 Gracefield Road, Silver Spring, MD. Interment will be private.  Arrangements have been entrusted to the MYERS-DURBORAW FUNERAL HOME in Taneytown, MD.

            Memorial contributions may be made to the MD Food Bank (mdfoodbank.org) or to Feeding America (feedingamerica.org).

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