Betty James

BETTY JAMES (née O’Brien), peacefully at home in Toronto, on January 29, 2019, in her 97th year, with her children at her side. Beloved wife of the late Walter Lorne Gordon James and loving mother of Shawn, Kevin and Maureen. Daughter of Eva and Terrence O’Brien, sister of Kathleen and Terrence, and cousin to Florence. Cherished grandmother of Silas James Todd.
Born on June 23, 1922, in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Betty began her career in the 1940s as an elementary school teacher. Having studied classical piano to a high level, her early years with Gordon featured masterclasses with pedagogue E. Robert Schmitz and duo concerts with Gordon in Toronto.
Betty subsequently excelled in ceramics and opened the Country Workshop in the neighborhood of Weston, City of York, Toronto, in the 1970s. Her business proudly featured Canadian giftware, ceramic classes, supplies and services, and clay slip manufacturing. She developed the Canadian Ceramic Education Program, which offered instruction in advanced ceramics techniques and studio operation. A lifelong educator, after her retirement, Betty taught English privately to students from Japan and other countries. She illustrated the book The Phonics Kids in Verse, written by Gordon. The James home in Etobicoke was a gallery for her many works of art, a venue for local performers, a gathering place for the James’s longstanding New Year’s Day celebrations, and where “Grandma School” for Silas joyfully took place during his many visits from Ottawa in his preschool years.
Special thanks to dedicated caregivers Zeny, Belle, Gaelle, Nenita, Adele, Merlyn and Florence. Special thanks also to Lisa, Sandra, Flora and others.
Family and friends will be received at Ward Funeral Home, 2035 Weston Road (north of Lawrence Avenue), Weston, on Saturday, February 2, 2019 from 2 p.m. until time of service in the chapel at 3 p.m. Committal at St. Paul's Cemetery, Coulson's Hill (north of Bradford) at a later date. In lieu of flowers, remembrances can be made to the charity of your choice. Please visit our Book of Memories at www.wardfuneralhome.com