James Robert Ausman

Born on October 12, 1936 in Elm Grove, Wisconsin, Jim was the son of John G. Ausman and Irene Bilodeau Ausman.

Jim spent most of his growing up years in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and graduated from Lincoln High School. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BS degree in Chemical Engineering. Jim started his career as a Nylon Fiber Development Engineer and then moved into sales as a Sales Engineer selling process equipment. His career led him from Pensacola, FL to Philadelphia, PA, and ultimately Charlotte, NC. After many years of working with Carotek, Inc. in Charlotte, he founded his own companies, HPE, Inc. and Hydrocorp, Inc. He retired in 2005.

It was shortly after moving to Charlotte that he met and married Martha O’Neill in 1968. He and Martha raised six sons.

Jim always enjoyed spending time in the NC mountains fishing on the beautiful fresh water lakes. He said they reminded him of the lakes he fished on in Wisconsin. He and Martha also greatly enjoyed spending time at their beach condo in N. Myrtle Beach with their sons and then their families. Everyone knew Jim was quick with a joke, loved playing the piano, and was excellent at playing his favorite games, such as crossword puzzles and Sudoku.

Jim’s Catholic faith was the center of his life. Always active in church activities, he served as one of the coordinators for Perpetual Adoration at St. Gabriel Catholic Church. Being outgoing and friendly to everyone, Jim also loved many of his retirement years being a volunteer at Novant Hospital Matthews. He delivered the hospital mail every Friday.

Jim is survived by his wife, Martha, five sons, John Richard in Cincinnati, OH, and Joseph Michael (Patricia), James Robert, Jr. (Mary Beth), Thomas Edward (Ashley), and Matthew James (Tess) all of Charlotte. In addition, he is survived by his grandchildren, Kaitlin Wightman-Ausman, Nikki Barnes (Graham), Corbin, Cameron, Allison, Ruffin, Annabelle, Emmeline, Jillian, Emmett, and two great-grandchildren, Titus and Lily Barnes. He was preceded in death by one son, William Thomas. Billy's death at age 4 in 1978 from Leukemia marked a tragic time for the family, but led to Jim and Martha helping to start a Ronald McDonald House in Durham and spending many years in Charlotte supporting KinderMourn, Inc. in order to help other bereaved families suffering the loss of a child.

The family expresses its heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Charles Edwards and the medical staff at Memory & Movement Charlotte as well as the staff at Hospice and Palliative Care Charlotte.

A visitation and Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, June 21st, at St. Gabriel Catholic Church, 3016 Providence Road, Charlotte. Visitation will be at 1:00 pm and the Funeral Mass at 2:00 pm with burial immediately following at Evergreen Cemetery. The service will be livestreamed through the website for St. Gabriel Catholic Church.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to KinderMourn, Inc., 1320 Harding Place, Charlotte, NC 28204.