Obituary of Glenda Kay James

Glenda Kay James, Port Royal Plantation, HHI.

April 7, 2019

The joy Glenda experienced throughout life, she shared with others. Her passion included watercolor painting, tennis, ice skating, snow skiing, and reading.  Her love of art lead her from her hometown of Clintwood, VA to Berea College and further studies in San Francisco.

She then made a career as a fashion artist with leading department stores in San Francisco, Atlanta, Knoxville and Columbia, SC.  Changing trends in advertising required relocations.  Her talent made it possible for her to choose new opportunities near her family in Kingsport, TN and her future husband in Atlanta.

Eventually advertising changed to photography and computers, department stores dwindled and merged.  She then could relinquish her career, move to Atlanta and marry Kenneth James.  Their intention was to eventually retire on Hilton Head Island.  Their home was completed in 1998 and they became Hilton Head residents.

Her husband recalls Glenda describing her ice skating in North Carolina, Knoxville and Atlanta.  She said making spin turns while skating backwards was difficult.  One memorable snow skiing trip was to Banff and Lake Louise in Canada.  She enjoyed the magnificent scenery and skied until she was exhausted.  The Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association, with over 100,000 members, gave Glenda all the tennis she desired.  In Port Royal Plantation she played with her foursome of friends and the Monday-Friday open players.

She dearly enjoyed the automobile tours with Ken, crisscrossing the Alps in Switzerland, Australia and Germany on seven visits.  The cable cars gave her the opportunities to sit on 7,000ft precipices while the paragliders spread their chutes and took off towards the snowcapped peaks with the mountain meadows behind.  Romantic alfresco dinners overlooking the water in Bellagio and Portofino were also unforgettable.

Two tours of Italy and Sicily were fascinating, with the Isle of Capri being the favorite.  The beauty and serenity of the Hawaiian Islands were experienced on six visits.  Her visits to several of the Caribbean Islands provided considerable snorkeling to view coral and underwater Life.  Other Island adventures were in the Virgin Islands and Bermuda.  Glenda fully experienced and enjoyed life.

What was nearest and dearest to her was The Art Group of Port Royal Plantation that meets every Monday at the Port Royal Beech House.  Her determination every week was to prepare her paintings to be ready for the meetings.  This was the highlight of her week. She loved the other members of the group and their shared talents, which she described to her husband after every meeting. 

Glenda was a member of the Art League of Hilton Head.  She painted nearly every weekday and her paintings were part of the displays at the Walter Greer Gallery, the Library and other venues.

Her husband describes Glenda as the “perfect wife”.  With Glenda, there was never a bad day, she made every day enjoyable.  He complemented her on her talent and intelligence.  He valued her advice and always consulted her before making a decision.

 

Her love and companionship were a joy always.  Perhaps solace can be found in the lyrics of an old ballad:          

“No tears, no sighs,

  we both spent a lifetime together,

     Parting is not goodbye,

         we’ll be together again”