1926 - 2007
Longtime Steamboat Springs resident Margaret Jean "Vonny" James passed away Dec. 8 at her winter home in Tucson, Ariz. She was 81.
Vonny was born Margaret Jean Von Wyl on Nov. 25, 1926, in Denver. Short for Von Wyl, Vonny was so named by her Kappa Alpha Theta sorority sisters at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she received her bachelor's degree in education. She taught elementary school in Denver for several years before marrying Howard P. "Bud" James on Sept. 12, 1948.
As the wife of a hotelier, she and her family moved frequently and traveled far from the mountains. Vonny made every house a true home filled with love, light and beauty. She was passionate about the arts - literary, performing and studio - and in each community she lived in, Vonny worked with organizations that engaged children in the arts. She also studied fine and decorative arts in London at the Inchbald School of Design.
Vonny and Bud have called Steamboat their home since 1976.
Vonny is survived by her husband, Howard P. "Bud" James of Steamboat Springs and Tucson, Ariz; sons Steven James of Girdwood, Ark., and Paul James of Overland Park, Kan.; daughters Katherine James Chase of Tucson and Nancy James of Tumacacori, Ariz.; and six grandchildren.
Services will be held this spring in Steamboat.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Vonny's name to Strings in the Mountains' Children's Program, P.O. Box 74627, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477, and Best Friends Animal Society, 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT 84741.
