Cynthia A. James, 83, died on Monday, May 29, 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Cynthia was born in Danville, Illinois on April 25, 1934, the second daughter of Reuel and Marjorie Guthrie. She was a lifelong Illinois resident until establishing permanent residency in Punta Gorda, Florida in 2012. She graduated from Champaign High School in 1952 and attended one year at the University of Arizona before returning home to care for her ailing mother, thereafter attending Illinois Commercial College in Champaign. Cynthia married Harlan D. James, a Champaign native, on March 24, 1956. Harlan and Cynthia raised three children and moved around the State of Illinois as Harlan's professional career advanced with the Illinois Bell Telephone Company. Upon retirement in Champaign in 1990, Harlan and Cynthia split their time between Punta Gorda and Champaign until Harlan's unexpected passing in 2011 after 55 years of marriage.

In addition to being a loving wife and full-time mother, Cynthia was a member of the Eastern Star, a member of the First Presbyterian Church and volunteered as a member of the Burnham Hospital Auxiliary and Provena Covenant Medical Center Auxiliary in Champaign. For almost a decade she also provided seasonal assistance at the University of Illinois Ticket office.

Cynthia, or "Cindy" as referred to by some of her card-playing friends in Punta Gorda, became a member of the First United Methodist Church in Punta Gorda and was a member of the PGI Social Club. She loved her family, friends and her ice cream. Cynthia is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Harlan, and her older sister, Rosamond Highland. Cynthia is survived by her three children, Marc L. James of Bossier City, Louisiana and his wife Karen, David R. James of Atlanta, Georgia, and Cheri A. Pierce of Mattoon, Illinois and her husband Kevin. Cynthia is also survived by four grandchildren, Blake, Cole, and Derek Pierce of Mattoon and Benjamin James of Atlanta.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, July 1, 2017 from 10 a.m. to 11a.m., immediately followed by a memorial service at Renner Wikoff Chapel, 1900 Philo Road, Urbana, Illinois 61802. The family requests that any memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society. The interment of ashes for both Cynthia and Harlan will occur immediately following the memorial service at Mount Hope Cemetery in Champaign.