Sadly, we announce that Covid-19 is believed to have claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Nacoma James, a teacher and coach at Lafayette County Schools in Lafayette, Mississippi, passed away on August 6, 2020. He was only 42 years old. He succumbed during the first week of the new school year, while self-quarantining for symptoms that are associated with Covid-19.

Nacoma was born on October 13, 1977, in Webster County, Mississippi. As a teen, he attended Eupora High School in Webster County School District, where he graduated in 1996. After his high school graduation, he enrolled at the University of Mississippi. He earned His Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics in 2000.

After graduating college, Nacoma accepted a position at Humphrey’s County High School. There he taught math and was an Assistant Football Coach from 2000 to 2003.

Since 2004, James worked as a middle school teacher and coach for Lafayette County School District in Oxford, Mississippi. Over the span of his 16-year career at Lafayette, Nacoma served as an Assistant Football Coach. He also served as the Boys’ Head Basketball Coach from 2012 to 2015. He was also named recently as an Assistant Coach for the Girls’ Powerlifting team.

“He was a great mentor for these young men around here and always had a smile on his face,” declares colleague and Head Football Coach Michael Fair. “We won a state championship together in 2016, and he had so much pride for Lafayette and loves this place so much,” Fair continued. “Just to see that look on his face of accomplishment, I probably won’t forget that, Fair concluded.

To learn more about this beloved educator, see this link to Mississippi Today.