DELTAVILLE — Mrs. Frances Borkey James of Deltaville passed away at the Lancashire Nursing Home in Kilmarnock. She was born in Caroline County in 1911, the only daughter of Frank B. Borkey and Sallie Selph and sister to 11 older brothers. She was descended from "hardy stock," family members who all live long and generally prosper. In her younger years, she attended college, then worked as a dental assistant. Since moving to Deltaville in 1951, she had been a "free lance nurse," caring for her husband and three brothers during their last days and a sister-in-law who died of cancer. In the latter case, she took a leave of absence for three months from her bank employment to participate in round-the-clock care of our aunt. In leaner years, she worked at the local tomato factory, peeling and canning tomatoes for five cents a bucket-a thing that horrified us at the time when we saw her come home exhausted with "loose change" in her pocket. But those were hard times. She worked in the Deltaville school cafeteria, turning out lunches that left little to throw away. People still remember her macaroni and "government surplus" cheese. She learned to drive at age 48. She worked for Social Services in Middlesex County, getting to know and help its poorer population. She worked for a local bank for years, buying stock and investing with each paycheck. She had a tax business long into the 70s and 80s. She was always supportive of her community, in bake sales, donations to the fire department, the rescue squad, the Masons-in honor of our father, and the library. Our mother had what we call "garden mania;" she had to have a garden every year and would call a local farmer to come plow it for her. She canned fruit and vegetables, once canning 48 quarts of tomatoes in one day to offset the worry of her son's accident. She kept a jar of blue-ribboned carrots long after they could be eaten, because we all admired them so. She always set a table for meals, tablecloth or place mats, good silver, flowers, the looks of food being important. She was an excellent housekeeper, still hanging laundry out, even though she had a dryer. She was always neat when she went out, living by the rule: "You never know who you'll run into." She raised her four children and helped with two nieces with whom she remained very close. She was independent, perhaps to a fault, never believing she'd need help. Mother was the healthiest person we have ever known, her family has been mostly healthy also, with no real horrors and what else can one ask for? She was preceded in death by her husband, Jeffrey William James, and her 11 brothers. She was survived by her four children, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Services were to be held Saturday, 16 Sep 2000 at Bristow-Faulkner Funeral Home in Saluda. Memorial gifts may be made to Middlesex Volunteer Rescue Squad, Deltaville, or Middlesex Public Library, Deltaville. [Source: Daily Press (Hampton, VA); Thursday, 14 Sep 2000.]