James Coffman Cole Sr.

Jim was born in Florence, Alabama, the second of Roy and Lizzie Cole’s three children. Even as a youth, he was sharp and strong willed, having skipped a number of grades, before entering college at Tennessee Tech at the age of 16 on an athletic scholarship for football and baseball. Jim served in the Navy from 1946 to 1948 as an avionics tech 3rd class. He finished his Engineering Physics degree in 1950 at Auburn University. He was a lifelong supporter of the Tigers (War Eagle!!) and attended the National Championship Game victory in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl. Jim also received an Executive MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1980. While working in Durham, NC in 1955, Jim met a lovely tour guide named Kitty Fisher. They married on June 9, 1956 and maintained a devoted partnership for SIX days shy of 68 years before her passing in June 2023.

Jim valued work and education above all else. His career included stops at RJR/Nabisco, Archer Aluminum (a subsidiary company of RJR), GE, Industrial Nucleonics, Western Electric, Combibloc, and Hopeman Brothers. These jobs moved the couple all over the world but they were most at home in North Carolina. Jim was highly regarded for his business acumen, work ethic, people skills, and financial finesse. Being the son of a teacher and brother to a school administrator, he gave generously to Auburn University and the University of North Alabama.

Jim and Kitty proudly raised three independent and successful children, Melissa, Catherine, and James. He was known as “Big Dad” to his three grandchildren; Catherine “Katie” Hunter Baldwin, Stuart Coffman Brown, and Patrick Walton Brown and he relished the time he shared with his children and grandchildren. In spite of his six-foot stature, Jim was very tender-hearted and was known to choke-up when speaking at weddings or family gatherings. But he also had a humorous side, whether that was combating his arch nemesis, the gray squirrel that attacked his tomato garden or joking around at Cole and Fisher Family Reunions, on the golf course, at sporting events, or most recently with his friends at Arbor Acres. The family is deeply grateful to the Staff and residents at Arbor Acres for the support and loving friendships.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents and siblings; William Hitchcock Cole and Carolyn Cole McCollum, as well as his dear wife, Kitty. He is survived by his children Melissa (David) Brown, Catherine Baldwin, and James (Carole) Cole, his grandchildren Katie, Stuart and Patrick, as well as his niece and nephew; Robin O. Cole and William (Bill) H. Cole Jr., as well as many nieces and nephews on the Fisher side of the family

A celebration of Jim’s life will be held in Piner Hall at Arbor Acres on August 9, 2025 at 2 pm. Jim will be reunited with his departed wife, Kitty, at the columbarium located at Trinity Methodist Church, 901 West Broad Street in Elizabethtown, NC 28337 on August 23, 2025 at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Trinity Methodist Church, PO Box 759, Elizabethtown, NC 28337 in Jim’s honor.