Mary E. James, age 77, died Saturday, April 3, 2004, at her home in Brookings, South Dakota. Funeral services will be 2:00 P.M. Tuesday, April 6, 2004, at First Presbyterian Church in Brookings, with interment in the Black Hills National Cemetery at 2:00 P.M. MDT Wednesday, April 7, 2004. Visitations will be from 5-8 P.M. Monday at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings. Memorials in lieu of flowers may be directed to First Presbyterian Church or the American Cancer Society. Mary Ellen (Vine) James was born August 1, 1926, at Albion, Michigan, to the Reverend Frederick and Ellen Viola (Shannon) Vine. She grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where she attended elementary and high school. She graduated from Cooley High School in 1944. She attended Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, for one year after which she transferred to Sioux Falls College where she graduated in 1948. After graduation she taught at Beaver Creek, Minnesota, a rural McCook County School, Brown High School in Sturgis, and Flandreau Public High School. She was a substitute teacher for many years. On June 13, 1947, Mary married Lee R. James at Detroit, Michigan. Following their marriage, they lived in Sioux Falls; Salem, South Dakota, St. Paul, Minnesota; Tioga, North Dakota; Tyndall, Lemmon, and Sturgis, South Dakota; before moving to Brookings in 1969. Mary was a member of First Presbyterian Church where she advised a youth group, taught Sunday School, served as a deacon, and was active in Presbyterian Women, as well as other church activities. She was a member of Chapter P, P.E.O.; Saturday Literary Club that meets on Tuesday; Brookings Hospital Auxiliary; Fidelis Gamma Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa; and Brookings Area Retired Teachers. Survivors include three children: John James of Brookings, Judy Beckley of San Leandro, California, and Richard James of Hayward, California; four grandchildren: William (Nicki) and Leigh Beckley, both of Brookings, and Jesse Jastram of Vermilion, South Dakota, and Kelsey Patmore of Sturgis, South Dakota; two great-grandsons, Devyn and Blake Beckley of Brookings; a sister, Marguerite Hatch, of Parma Heights, Ohio; a brother, Paul Vine, of Highland Park, Michigan; nieces and a nephew. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1979; a daughter, Marilee, in 2000; her parents; a sister; and three brothers.