Christie Ann James

East Madison – Dr. Christie Ann James D.O., 61, of East Madison, peacefully died Friday morning, December 16, 2016, in the company of her loving family at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, following a determined two-year struggle with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).

She was born April 15, 1955, in Saint Stephen, New Brunswick, the fourth child of Robert E. and Dorothy A. (Mitchell) James. She was raised in Princeton, where she attended local schools and graduated from Woodland High School in Baileyville in 1973.

In 1974, she married Anthony Lyons of Hornsby, Australia, and they had three children: a son, Aaron, in 1976, and twin daughters, Ruth and Meghann, in 1980. She and Tony divorced in 1994, following which Christie returned to college, completing her undergraduate work and a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. She went on to receive a Doctor of Osteopathy Degree from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1998.

Following her residency at St Barnabas Hospital in Bronx, NY, where she specialized in Neuromuscular Medicine, she opened a private practice, Western Maine Osteopathic Healthcare in Farmington, which thrived until her illness forced her to close in October 2014. She was a board member at the Osteopathic Cranial Academy, where she frequently taught medical students and Osteopaths and through this shared her love for the profession.

Christie loved to travel. She visited Australia with Tony and the children, traveled to Europe and all over the United States on matters related to osteopathy, to Switzerland and Utah to ski.

On December 13, 2014, Christie married Peter Freyer and, in 2015, they moved to a camp on Lake Wesserunsett in East Madison, where she never tired of the changing weather and seasons, or the loons, eagles and other wildlife that she could see from the wall of windows in front of her bed.

She is survived by her husband, Peter Freyer, of East Madison; her children and their families: Aaron and Darcy (Anderson) Lyons and their daughter, Penelope, of Warren, Rhode Island; Dr. Meghann and Derek Derosier, and their children, Abigail and Caleb, of Orono; and Ruth Lyons, Ph.D., of Orono; Christie’s former husband, Anthony Lyons and his wife, Brenda Chandler, of Auburn; Christie’s parents, Robert and Dorothy James of Skowhegan, her siblings, David James and his husband, Jon Kimbell, of Skowhegan; Patricia Kenney of Brunswick and her daughter Sarah; John and Mary (Rudd) James of Augusta; Robert and Barbara (Donnelly) James, of Winterport, and his children, Mitchell and Andrea James; Pamela and Jeffrey Powers of Skowhegan, and their children, Jordan and Samuel Powers; in-laws, Bill and Toni Freyer of Shallotte North Carolina; a devoted friend and caregiver, Matt Holland of Guilford; friends, Kundalini Teacher Training classmates and colleagues too numerous to mention.

A celebration of Christie’s life will take place at the Old South Church, 227 Main St., Farmington, on Thursday, December 22, 2016, at 2:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, friends who wish may make donations in Christie’s memory to the Osteopathic Cranial Academy, 3535 E 96th St Suite 101, Indianapolis, IN 46249 (online donations at http://tinyurl.com/drcjames ). Spring burial in Princeton will take place at a date to be announced. Arrangements by Mays Funeral Home, Calais & Eastport.

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