Icilda Maud James was born to Amos Patterson and Mabel White on April 18th 1921; in Spring Mount, St James Parish in Jamaica. She was the second of three children.
Icilda attended school in Maryland, Hanover, Jamaica. After completing school, Icilda worked as a cook in the tourist industry until she immigrated to the United States in 1968, and later became a US citizen.
While in Jamaica, Icilda met and married Hubert James on December 13, 1944. Her husband preceded her in death on February 16, 2004.
Upon moving to the US, Icilda and Hubert settled in Cincinnati Ohio and became active members of the Clifton Seventh Day Adventist Church. Icilda enjoyed attending church, singing in the choir, and witnessing; she also served as a deaconess for several years. Icilda was employed by the Jewish Hospital as a technician, a position she held until retiring in 1988.
Icilda loved to cook and entertain. She enjoyed meeting people and made lots of friends instantly. She travelled a lot during her retirement; visiting family and friends in the US, Canada, Jamaica, and the UK.
Icilda was diagnosed with a brain tumor in February 2015, a disease that progressed rapidly, and from which she departed this earth on September 5, 2015.
She leaves to mourn her passing a daughter, Gloria Adzamli; a son- in-law, Kofi Adzamli; a granddaughter , Selom Adzamli; step daughter Cislyn James Sterling; grandsons LeVar Sterling and Travis Brown; niece Thelma Smart; nephew Maurice Chung; niece Jennifer Binns; and other relatives and friends.