Gladys Bernadine James

Gladys Bernadine James was born on January 27, 1948, in Charlotteville, a small fishing village nestled “beyond God’s back” in Tobago. A child of salt air and mango trees, she grew up watching the fishermen cast their nets in the bay and “liming” on the beach with her large, close-knit family, including siblings, Medora, Ermin, Clyde, Violet, and Berdette.

Gladys - or “Bernadine” - as she was sometimes called back home, was smart. She went to school barefoot, as many did at that time, and - while she loved to play - her mind was never idle. Even through immense losses such as the passing of her father, the passing of her mother, and the destruction of her home during Hurricane Flora in 1963, she excelled at school earning a place at Bishop’s High School. She was a proud alum and there she built friendships that lasted her whole life.

She worked in Tobago for some time but then her story shifted again in August 1973, when she arrived in the United States. At the University of Maryland, College Park, she studied geography, and found her tribe among fellow Caribbean students, including her eventual husband Sam James. She became a mother to Melissa in 1978, followed by Preston in 1979.

Gladys and Sam returned home to Trinidad for a time in 1980, but America called once more. In 1983, they returned with hope and a young family in tow. But, in October of that year, they endured heartbreak with the death of their newborn son, Jeremy. It was a loss that could have broken anyone, but Gladys remained strong. Strength through adversity was Gladys’ hallmark.

She began her illustrious career as a school librarian for DCPS at Shaed Elementary in 1984. Her library was a wonderland of imagination: bulletin boards alive with color and care, and a book club that turned reluctant readers and writers into lifelong lovers of words. Her students adored her. She became a safe harbor not just for children, but for entire families, such as her beloved “adopted” children and grandchildren, the Briceños. The Shaed community was her family.

To her children, Melissa and Preston, she was a loving mother. From their earliest days, she nurtured their curiosity, encouraging them to read, and write, and to strive for excellence in school. In adulthood, she remained a steady and supportive presence to them. She welcomed their spouses, Raphaël and Yolanda, with open arms, loving them as her own and embracing the expanding family they helped create.

Shaed’s closure in 2011 was a deep personal loss. But she moved on to Barnard Elementary, where she became something of an elder stateswoman. She was Barbara to everyone’s Janine. She mentored, she guided, she gave, and she served.

Her life was dedicated to service, and was a life lived with the values of grace, empathy, and mercy. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” Gladys was a servant in the truest, most sacred sense to her community, her faith, and her family.

She had big plans for retirement. But then the world slowed with the pandemic. And somehow, in that stillness, life became full again. She called her friends and family routinely. She tended to her garden full of color and accessories. She crafted the most beautiful handmade cards. And she poured her love into her seven treasured grandchildren: Nicolas, Paris, Gabriel, Paige, Alexandra, Priyana, and Pierre.

Her accent came and went, but she remained a Tobagogal through and through. She instilled her culture through her cooking, her traditions, and the quiet pride she carried in her roots.

When illness came, she met it as she met every storm of adversity in her life: with grace, strength, and resolve. She would never have called herself a fighter, but she was.

And now, her story lives on in all who knew and loved her: in every child who found refuge in her library, in every meal shared, and in every handmade card received.

May she rest in peace and rise in glory. She was preceded in death by her parents, Leonard and Eugenia, her sisters, Medora and Berdette, her husband, Samuel, and her son, Jeremy.