Della Jean (Schiele) James, formerly of St. Hilaire, MN, age 78, died Friday, May 19, 2017 at Thief River Falls Care Center, Thief River Falls, MN.

A Memorial Service will be held at 5:00 PM on Saturday, July 1, 2017 at Towner City Park in Towner, ND.

Della Jean (Schiele) James was born on December 26, 1938 in Rolla, ND, the daughter of Ivan Schiele and Vera (Strietzel) Schiele.  She graduated in 1957 from Towner High School.  After graduation she moved to southern California where she met and married Richard "Dick" Lee Miller in October of 1958.  From this union two daughters were born, Kim and Robyn.

She married the love of her life Ronald James in July of 1985 in San Bernadino, CA where they owned " The James Gang Tin Can Saloon ".  To be closer to her daughter, Kim in 1992, Della moved to St. Hilaire, MN.  She worked at Arctic Cat and transferred to Bucyrus, OH when Arctic Cat opened a shipping and receiving plant there.  Ronald died in 2000 and Della retired from Arctic Cat in 2002.  As she started having problems with her health, Della moved back to Minnesota with her daughter, Kim.

Della is survived by her daughters, Kim "Kimmer" (Kirk) Benke of Middle River, MN, and Robyn Williams of Glendale, CA; grandchildren, Joshua (Sheri) Huth of Thief River Falls, MN, Cassidy Lian of St. Hilaire, MN, Toni (Jeremy) Avalos of Fayetteville, GA; great-grandchildren, Brody Vennes, Colton Huth, Brooklyn Avalos, Landon Avalos, and Addison Avalos; sisters, Arabelle "Honey" (Roger) Dosch of Denbeigh, ND and Faye (Michael) Drader of Pick City, ND; several nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Ronald James; grandson, Jesse James Lian; her parents; sister, Dorothy Gunderson; nephew, Allen Gunderson.

Condolences may be sent at www.johnsonfuneralservice.com