Edge mourns kids' 'loving mom'

Edquisha James, the 11-year-old daughter of NFL player Edgerrin James and Andia Wilson-James, sat on a beach and, smiling at the camera, said goodbye to her mother.

During a video tribute shown at their mother's funeral Wednesday afternoon that moved many of the about 1,000 in attendance to tears, Eyahna, 7, Edgerrin II, 4, and Euro, 2, the couple's youngest three children, also appeared, saying and waving goodbye.

"Mommy, you will not be forgotten," Edquisha said.

One of children had drawn "I Love You Mom" in the sand.

The two-hour funeral service took place at First Baptist Church off Orange Blossom Road in north Naples. Christian songs of praise were played, including "Praise Is What I Do," sung by family friend Rhoderica Washington.

The subdued but joyful gathering included numerous current and former teammates of James, 30, from the 1996 Immokalee High School graduate's time with the Arizona Cardinals, the Indianapolis Colts and the University of Miami Hurricanes.

Reggie Wayne, Santana Moss, Bubba Franks, Clinton Portis, Andre Johnson, Anquan Boldin and Nate Webster were among the players in attendance, along with James' agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

Wilson-James, 30, died last Tuesday after a year-long battle with acute myeloid leukemia. Her doctors and friends spoke of Wilson-James' courage, tenacity, strength and faith throughout her ordeal.

They also talked about how James, behind the scenes of his prominent NFL career - he's the 11th all-time leading rusher in the league with 12,121 yards - took weekly cross-country trips from Arizona throughout last season to care for Wilson-James and their children.

"He put together an entire support team," said Pamela James, Edgerrin's aunt, who spoke at the funeral and urged the audience to applaud that team.

"It's not the years in the life, but the life in the years," Pamela James said during the service. "She loved her family and she loved her friends. And she had a lot of friends.

"Even though she had faith, she did not give up. She said, 'I want them (her children) to know that I did everything I could do.' "

Edgerrin James and Wilson-James met at Immokalee High in the mid-1990s, when they were students there.

Wilson-James attended Super Bowl XLIII on Feb. 1 in Tampa, in which the Cardinals lost 27-23 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, despite her weakened condition because of constant chemotherapy treatments that began about a year ago.

Walter James, Edgerrin's uncle, praised his nephew for keeping the family focused during Wilson's grueling treatment, which Dr. Jeffrey Lancet of Tampa described during the service as being extremely difficult.

"He is humbled, and he is human," Walter James said of Edgerrin, who had numerous talks with his children about their mother's final destination of heaven.

"He explained everything to them in great detail," Walter James said. "He took the fear out of it for them."

Edgerrin James, who has one season remaining on his contract with the Cardinals, declined to comment at this time but thanked The News-Press for attending. He will continue to lean on his large family that has mutually supported one another long before James gained fame as an elite running back.

"That's not going to take the place of mom," Walter James said of family and friends. "But we're going to be there to help fill those gaps."

(news-press.com)