Lynnette W. (Wassink) James, 66, of Hamilton, Virginia, passed away quietly the morning of
Dec. 20, 2019, at the Waltonwood of Ashburn Assisted Living Residence from complications related to early onset dementia. Lynnette was the daughter of Lawrence and Joyce Wassink of Panama, New York. Most folks know her as Lynne.
Lynne was born May 11, 1953, in Jamestown, New York. She was raised in Panama, New York, where she attended K-12 grades at Panama Central School, graduating in 1971.
She is survived by her husband, Edward (Ed) James, who she married Aug. 20, 1977, at a
service in the Panama United Methodist Church.
Lynne is also survived by her very loving daughter and son, Bretta James (Efrain) Barrera of
Hamilton, Virginia, and Brady James (Kelley) of Reston, Virginia, and special granddaughter Taylor Barrera. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother Larry Wassink.
Lynne attended Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music in Winchester, Virginia, and
graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Music Education with a Performance Certificate for Piano
and Voice. She attended the University of South Carolina and obtained a Masters of Music (piano) in 1977.
Lynne was a music teacher for 34 years. Her most recent position was with Loudoun County
Public Schools in Virginia, where she taught elementary music from 2004 until when she retired.
Her husband, Ed, worked for the U.S. Forest Service. They moved five times with the U.S. Forest Service for career opportunities for Ed. They were residents of Columbia, South Carolina; Vernal, Utah; Fresno, California; Rohnert Park, California; and Hamilton, Virginia.
Lynne was an outstanding piano accompanist, playing for several church music programs,
musical productions and teaching voice lessons.
We have so many beautiful memories of Lynne as wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin,
friend, and her wonderful love of music. The past seven years as she lived with dementia, we still made several trips to the beach (including Maui — her favorite), visiting family and friends, and attended weddings and participated in a variety of activities. Lynne enjoyed shopping for items to decorate our house and yard.
Memorials may be made to Chautauqua Institution, a cultural center in New York State where Lynne spent summers and studied piano, or to your local Alzheimer’s Association.