Carol Frances Edwards was born on 21 June 1946, the only child of Pauline and Frank Edwards. She grew up in Corinth, Mississippi, excelling academically and musically throughout high school. She was accepted to Mississippi State University in 1964, but got sidetracked from her goal of studying microbiology when she met her future spouse, Don Richard James, Sr. She experienced the first of many name changes, becoming Carol Edwards James, on 22 August 1965. The second name change occurred In October 1967, when she became Mommy, then Memzy, and ultimately Mimi. She frequently referred to herself as CJ, but only when she had just made a minor mistake.

No matter what anyone called her, she was wildly creative, equally at ease with a sewing machine, a cake decorating bag, a Dremel tool, a bucket of paint, or a pen. When faced with the blank canvases of two tiny humans, she applied broad strokes of security and love, cut by a few vibrant lines of silliness and biting sarcasm. If she ever surreptitiously flipped you the bird, you knew you were part of the family.

She was always willing to be there for the people in her life, whether it was to create a mouthwatering spread of barbecue, appetizers, desserts, and even food art for the annual July 4 pool party or to ride the school bus as chaperone for the 4th grade trip to NASA. Even when she wasn't there, she was there. She never failed to send out Christmas cards, birthday cards, Valentine's Day cards, and even Halloween cards, single-handedly keeping the greeting card businesses afloat. Because there were no "have a good lunch, and I will see you in two hours" cards, she would frequently drop little napkin notes into the kids' lunches to let them know she was thinking of them. She was always thinking of them.

In 1979, she went to work as the attendance clerk at the newly constructed Welch Middle School, and over the next several years, she progressed counterclockwise through the various offices until she finally landed the coveted position as principal's secretary. Along the way she forged some amazing friendships that endured long after she left Welch in 2000, when she embarked on a new career with the Institute for Research and Reform in Education.

She loved to explore. New places, new cuisines, and new books were always calling to her, but she also had a great fondness for the old standbys. There were countless family trips, many taken to tried-and-true destinations like her hometown of Corinth, but many to places farther afield, like London, Rome, and the Arctic Circle. She also enjoyed plenty of girls-only cruises with work friends that brought her immense happiness.

In December 1997, she became a grandmother for the first time and devoted countless hours to spoiling her grandson, Sean. Over the next 12 years, she welcomed five more grandchildren; Ryan, Drew, Brett, Megan, and James.

It's unclear exactly when she became the cat lady. Some say it dated all the way back to the time when she was a little girl and her mother refused to let her have a cat. By the turn of the century, though, she had secured the title by amassing numerous live cats, along with imitation cats on shirts, mugs, art, towels, Christmas decorations, and jewelry. Don was no innocent bystander throughout all of this, himself adding new kittens to the mix periodically.There are no doubt cat hairs in heaven now.

Unfortunately, she inherited the inexorable mental decline that had plagued her own mother during the last years of her life. Although many memories were washed away like sand castles at the beach, she held firm to her love of family and friends and looked forward to a time when she would return home.

Carol is survived by her husband, Don, her children, Don Jr. and Renee, and her grandchildren, Sean, Drew, Brett, Megan, and James. A celebration of her life will take place on Sunday, May 19, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. at Brix Wine Cellars.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a donation in her name either to the Houston Humane Society https://www.houstonhumane.org/ or to the Alzheimer's Association https://www.alz.org/ .