Billie Lorrae James

Billie was the eldest daughter born to Merven and Evelyn (Thayne) Bowman on October 25, 1935 in Emmett, ID. Billie was raised, along with her younger sister Connie, in Emmett and Boise, following the path their father lead with his work as a master mechanic, even as far away as Alaska.

Billie married Thomas W. Richardson, Jr. at a young age and had three beautiful children, Gary, Michael and Tawni. After her children were grown, she lived in Yellow Pine, ID where she owned the Yellow Pine Lodge and Corner Bar with her family. It was here that she met and married Charles L. James, who was visiting Yellow Pine while conducting diamond bit exploration drilling, and together they began an adventure of travel and exploring the country while he worked in the mining industry, living in Yellow Pine, ID, Osburn, ID, and later retiring in Meridian, ID.

Billie will always be remembered for her dazzling smile and her gift for making friends easily, while remaining very opinionated and having a strong determination to defend her principles. Billie had a compassionate, caring way about her, and treasured her many lifelong friends. She loved her family deeply and reached out to them often to see if they needed anything or just to catch up. She had a great love of country music and was blessed to befriended some of the country music stars she admired most.

Billie loved to travel, spending her earlier life planning trips with her beloved sister and mother, exploring historic family homesteads and cemeteries in the Northwest while seeing sights never experienced before. Most recently, Billie traveled with her daughter Tawni and son-in-law David on a grand tour of the East Coast, and around the Northwest, watching them compete in horse shows, and the sport of Omoksee.

Throughout her life, Billie shared many similar passions with her mother and sister. From gardening, growing a lush variety of plants and trees that reflected her love of design and careful use of colors and textures to create a beautiful landscape for all to admire, to researching geology, studying rock formations while collecting a variety of interesting rocks for their beauty to augment her flower beds and walkways, to her love of research of Idaho history, collecting many books on the Cascade and Yellow Pine areas, Valley County, Shoshone County and the Silver Valley, which assisted her and her sister in a compilation of their family genealogical history as well as a book created to honor their fathers life, which is currently located in the Valley County Library.

Billie was an avid member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and served the church with a deep and abiding love of the gospel to her very end.

Billie is survived by her sister Connie Young, her children Gary Richardson and Tawni Limesand (Richardson), stepchildren, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents Merven & Evelyn, her husband Charles (Chuck) James, and her son Michael Richardson.