‘She was my role model’: Kansas City mother, youth therapist Nicole James dies at 47
When Adrienne Mcgautha-James was growing up, she was more likely to find her big sister, Nicole James, helping her dad fix the car, mowing the lawn or climbing a tree rather than playing with dolls.
She watched James do things her own way, and it was that determined personality that made her excel at whatever she put her mind to.
“She always liked to be able to take charge of her own life,” says Mcgautha-James. “Nicole was always a big performing arts person and into anything that allowed her to be creative.”
James, 47, a youth therapist and mother of two, died Oct. 6. Her sister says they are still unsure what caused the death.
Mcgautha-James says her sister played a big part in bringing her out of her shell.
“She was an extrovert who was very outgoing and the life of the party,” she says. “You couldn’t help but to laugh and have a good time when she was around.”
Seeing her older sister’s hard work pay off laid the groundwork for the path Mcgautha-James followed.
“She was my role model because I watched her go to high school, graduate, go to college, graduate, then went to get her master’s, and I followed in those exact footsteps she had laid,” says Mcgautha-James, who lives in Houston and works for the city as a division manager helping previously incarcerated prison inmates get readjusted back into society.
James received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Lincoln University and earned a master’s in counseling at Texas Southern University. She returned to Kansas City to work for Swope Health Central. Having a natural talent for connecting with youth, she touched the lives of many children in need.
“I think what you’re meant to do just finds you, and she always enjoyed helping people,” says Mcgautha-James. “That was her calling, she was passionate about helping young people and she was able to help them through their psychological traumas.”
But there was no job James loved more than being a mother. Mcgautha-James thinks each of her two children embodies an aspect of her sister’s personality.
“Her children made her the happiest in life,” she says. “Each one of her children has a different side to her. Her son has her nerdy side, and her daughter has her sassy outgoing side.”
James believed in doing your best and doing everything she could to help.
“She wanted people to know that regardless of what we were facing and what was happening in your life, you matter to somebody,” says Mcgautha-James. “If you came across her path, she made sure you knew your life is valuable.”
In addition to her sister, she is survived by her parents, Andre’ and Dawna James, and children, Jayden and Kennedy James.
Other remembrances
Deidra Traylor
Deidra Traylor, a mother and addiction counselor, died Oct. 5 She was 58.
Traylor was born Feb. 17, 1965, to John and Dorothy Richard in Kansas City, Kansas. She was the couple’s only daughter and graduated from Sumner Academy of Arts and Science. She and her family were heavily involved at Second Metropolitan Baptist Church, where she sang in the choir as a girl.
Traylor graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in business organization and leadership.
Traylor then worked in the Wyandotte County courthouse for years before becoming a therapist at the Addiction Stress Center Kansas City for five years. She also worked as the director for over a dozen rehabilitation centers for the Salvation Army.
She had three daughters and enjoyed family trips.
She is survived by daughters Allysia Marks, Diona Marks and Keyanna Tolon; her parents, John and Dorothy Richard; brothers Bobby Stringfellow and Jeffrey Richard.
Theodis Greer Jr.
Theodis Greer Jr., U.S. Army veteran and retired respiratory therapist, died Sept. 25. He was 92.
Greer was born Oct. 16, 1930, to Theodis and Magnolia Greer in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Hot Springs High School, where he played on the football team.
Greer enlisted in the Army, served in the Korean War and was awarded the Korean Service Medal. After returning home, Greer met Lillie Kendall and the two married in 1951 and had two daughters.
After he received an honorable discharge in 1953, the family moved to Kansas City, where Greer began his career as a respiratory therapist and worked for the Veterans Administration Hospital for over 30 years until his retirement.
Greer then refocused his energies into community outreach, like mentoring to help the next generation. In his free time, he enjoyed fishing, camping and relaxing in nature.
He is survived by his wife, Lillie Mae Greer; children, Alisa Meireis and Evelyn Magley; and brother Alvin Williams.
