Charles James
Charles Edward James
9/3/1950 – 3/8/2024
Charles sat for his portrait on October 21, 2023 when he was 73 yrs. old. He passed away five months later. Ann James, Charles Jame’s wife for the past 26 years, provided information for this narrative about his life.
Charles had a gift for music. He taught himself how to play keyboard, lead guitar and bass guitar, and he also sang. He mostly played gospel music, although he once played with a house band in Charlottesville. Charles led the choir at Evergreen Baptist Church in Fluvanna and also played guitar at several other Fluvanna churches. Both of Charles’ parents were gifted musicians; his father was part of a traveling gospel group.
Despite his wonderful talent, Charles was humble and quiet. He didn’t think he was anything special. However, he did pay attention to his appearance, as evidenced by the clothing he chose to wear for his portrait painting session. His wife, Ann, who loves fashion, helped Charles dress to perfection for the occasion.
Charles was born in the Gravel Hill community in Fluvanna, and both his parents came from Fluvanna. According to Ann, Charles likely never looked into his family’s Fluvanna ancestry. She does not know if Charles attended a Rosenwald School for the first few years of schooling. Since his name does not appear, “Fluvanna’s Rosenwald Schools 1924 – 1958: Including a Student Directory”, one can conclude that most of his elementary school education occurred at Central Elementary School, initially a segregated public school that opened in 1958. He attended S.C. Abrams High School, a Black high school which was segregated until school integration in 1969.
After high school, Charles worked in corrections for 27 years – first at Buckingham County Correctional Center and then at St. Brides Correctional Center in Chesapeake, Virginia where he left as Lieutenant. He met his wife, Ann, while working at Chesapeake, and they then returned to Fluvanna where Charles was employed for an additional 10 years at Fork Union Military Academy.
In addition to working and playing guitar, Charles loved to fish with his buddy, Banks, especially in the Tidewater area. Charles not only caught fish, but also cleaned them and could cook up a mean fish dinner. Charles also wrote poetry. Ann does not know if he converted any of his poetry into his music.
Charles had deep faith, being a God-fearing man who loved the Lord. Even when he knew he was dying, Charles stayed positive until the end. He felt “God’s will be done.” Ann said, recalling that Charles smiled when he said, “I know I’m going to that other shore.”