James B. (Jim) Cates, Ed. D.

James B. (Jim) Cates, Ed. D., 84, of Morganton, NC, passed away on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.

Born in Harnett County, NC on March 9, 1938, he was the son of the late John Driver Cates and Iris Swann Bryan Cates.  Jim was a member of St. Mary’s and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.

Jim is survived by his son, Bryan Cates (Stephanie); grandchildren, Wilson, Michael, Coral, and Joy Cates; brother, Bill Cates (Filomena); sister, Iris Ragland; and a number of nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, Jim was preceded in death by his wife, Georgia Kincaid Cates; son, Chris Cates; and brother, Bobby Cates.

Jim spent his school years living in Buies Creek, N.C.  Upon completion of high school he enrolled at Campbell College and worked odd jobs for the school to pay for his tuition.  After two years at Campbell, Jim went to work for the government in Washington D.C. to save money for the remainder of his college education.  He enrolled at Appalachian State Teacher’s College in Boone where he met and married Georgia Kincaid.  After graduation, his first teaching job was at Anjier High School near Buies Creek.  He completed a master’s degree in education and moved to Morganton to begin teaching at Morganton High School.  Years later he was the first business teacher hired at Western Piedmont Community College.  During this time he earned his Doctorate in Education from Nova University. 

Jim took a break from teaching in the mid 80’s to pursue a career in the insurance and investment industry.  He returned to teach high school in the early 90’s and earned a master’s degree in school administration.  After retirement, Jim’s passion for education and teaching young people continued as he spent many years as a substitute teacher.

Jim was an amazing father to Bryan and Chris and was there to support them in anything and everything through the years, from sports growing up, to music, and later as a grandfather.  One of Jim’s loves was beach music and shag dancing.  He and Georgia were long time members of the Sandy Beach Shag Club and made many trips over the years to N. Myrtle Beach to the S.O.S. shag weeks.  He was an avid runner for over 40 years and ran in countless 5K races.  Jim loved to read and it was not unusual for him to read a book a day.    Earlier in life he enjoyed playing tennis and golf and coaching Bryan and Chris’s teams where he is always remembered for taking the teams to McDonald’s after games.  He earned an associate’s degree in auto mechanics so he could work on his convertible M.G.’s.  Jim always had an interest in politics and public service.  A lifelong proud Democrat, he served as a Burke County Commissioner for two terms from 1978-1985 and served a term as the Chairman of the Burke County Democratic Party.  He ran for state office on several occasions mainly to meet and talk to people and to “politic” as he called it.

Jim developed a passion for painting and artwork.  He would spend several hours each day in his garage working on his found-object art projects or his paintings. In the last few years, Jim became a regular at Bin5 in Morganton, digging for treasures to use in his art projects.  He loved talking with the staff and meeting people in the store. Jim most of all loved sharing his paintings and art with others. If someone would do something kind for him or help him in any way he would often repay the gesture by going home and painting something for that person.

Jim was truly one of a kind and lived by his own rules.  His energy and zest for life was something to behold.  We will miss him dearly and cherish the time we had with him.  In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to St. Mary’s and St. Stephen’s Church with Chris Cates Memorial Scholarship Fund in the subject line. 

Services for Jim will be held Friday, June 24th at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.  The family will receive friends immediately following the service.