This Mother’s Day, the family of Mildred James celebrates more than a mother—they honor a matriarch whose unwavering faith, unconditional love, and homemade meals have shaped four generations.
“She’s a loving, nurturing, compassionate woman,” said her daughter, Debra James White, from her home in Grand Prairie, Texas.
“If you’ve ever crossed her path, you’ve been prayed for and probably fed, too.”
Mildred James is the proud mother of eight children—seven girls and one boy—over 40 grandchildren, and at least 20 great-grandchildren, although, as Debra laughingly admits, “We’ve lost count. They keep adding to the number.”
To know Mildred is to know family. For decades, her Cresent Drive home has been the center of warmth and welcome, a place where visitors never left hungry and children never left unnoticed.
“She knows every grandchild and great-grandchild by name,” Debra said. “That’s just the kind of mother and grandmother she is.”
As a devoted member of New Tabernacle Baptist Church, Mildred served faithfully for years as a choir member, Mother of the Church, and active participant in the Mission and Worthy Women ministries. She even earned a Diploma of Christian Education from the National Baptist Convention. She and her husband the late John “Joe” James made Christian Education a priority.
Her faith wasn’t just an activity—it was a way of life that she passed down through generations.
“She showed us how to be Christian wives, how to pray, how to support one another,” Debra reflected. “Everything she did came from her heart.”
Mildred spent her working years in the Monroe City School System, first as a cook and eventually rising to head dietian. But her culinary impact didn’t stop at the school. At home, the smell of cornbread, greens, and fried chicken was a daily reminder of her love.
“She cooked for everybody. Food was her way of saying, ‘You’re home. You’re safe. You’re loved.’”
Debra, now working in the Grand Prairie Independent School District, recalls growing up in the James household with polished shoes, pressed clothes, and combed hair.
“Looking good was important to her. You were going to school clean and neat, because she believed how you showed up mattered.”
Now in a season of illness and homebound, Mildred is surrounded by the very love she spent her life planting. Her children, many of whom live in different cities, remain united through daily prayer calls—a tradition she inspired.
“She raised us to pray together, to travel and celebrate each other, and to show up,” Debra said.
“Even from her bed, she reminds us to love one another and keep the family bond strong.”
And that bond stretches back generations. “She is who she is because of her mother,” Debra said. “And we are who we are because of her.”
As this Mother’s Day arrives, the James family honors a woman who’s more than a mother—she’s a cornerstone. A cook. A counselor. A Christian. A woman who prays with her heart, feeds with her hands, and lives with purpose.
“She’s still here by God’s grace,” said Debra. “And what she poured into us—we’re pouring back into her. That’s the blessing.
