James Kelly Eaton

On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, James Kelly Eaton, devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend, died peacefully at the age of 71 after a prolonged illness. A funeral liturgy will be held at St. Mark Catholic Church in Wilmington, NC on October 10, 2023 at 11:30 am.

Born in Greensboro, NC on August 28, 1951, J. “Kelly” Eaton was the son of Josephine (Lee) Eaton and Julius Keller Eaton. He was preceded in death by his older sisters, Rebecca “Becky” and Bonita “Bonnie” and his parents. He is survived by his wife, and love of his life, Kathryn, his son John (daughter-in-law Liza) and daughter Kara (son-in-law Adam) and his precious grandchildren. He is dearly missed by his immediate family and his cousins, brother and sister in-law, nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, and friends near and far.

Kelly overcame challenges in his youth to find a craft he loved as a carpenter. He was fond of finish carpentry and renovated several homes throughout his life. He worked as a carpenter before completing his Associate’s Degree at Rockingham Community College (Wentworth, NC). He shared his love of carpentry and architecture with his family. Kelly earned his degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at North Carolina State University and was a proud Wolfpack basketball fan his entire life. He studied at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and enjoyed a long and exciting career as a Professional Engineer in North Carolina, Washington D.C., and New York State. He was a member of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and a life member of The Association of Energy Engineers. Kelly worked for Burroughs Wellcome, Glaxo Wellcome, and GlaxoSmithKline and several other companies and consulting firms. He worked in New York on the Freedom Tower and several projects in Washington, D.C. Most recently, Kelly worked with a wonderful team at Coffman Engineering of Raleigh, NC. He said it was the best job he ever had because of the brilliant and kind people with whom he worked. He loved James Chen and his Coffman family and the prayers, support, and kindness they provided to him and his family over the past year will never be forgotten. He enjoyed mentoring young engineers and wanted to write a helpful book about his experiences in engineering.

He was fond of college sports, adventures, the Great Smoky Mountains, Frank Lloyd Wright, classic rock, folk, classic country, and other eclectic music, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy, animals (particularly his French Bulldog “Hugo”), fun bowties, Wrightsville Beach, reading, and doting over his grandchildren. He loved and was so proud of his children and his wife, as he told them often. He enjoyed hearing John and Kara play their violins and viola and requesting some favorite tunes.

He often quoted Robert Schuller’s, “Tough times never last, but tough people do,” and Benjamin Franklin’s, “You can do anything you set your mind to.” He referenced Curtis Mayfield’s lyrics, “Keep on keeping on,” regularly and modeling a patient perseverance to overcome life’s challenges. He was silly, quiet, loving, devoted, caring, brilliant, and giving, and although our lives will truly never be the same without him, we know he wouldn’t want us to dwell in sadness. One of the greatest gifts he gave was a final dream before his death. He shared with his wife Kathryn that he had a dream on his last night at home and he “saw Jesus and angels and felt at peace and that is where he wanted to be.” After sharing, his mind was somewhere else, he no longer spoke, and his body declined. He gained his Angel’s wings early in the morning on April 18. We love you, Kelly. Here’s to a life beautifully lived. Rest in peace, Dad.

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

The rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

-An Irish Blessing