James Exum, III

James Gooden Exum III died from natural causes on March 6, 2024. He was born in Greensboro, NC on August 22, 1964, the son of James G. Exum, Jr. and Judith Jamison Exum and the brother of his younger siblings, Steven Jamison Exum and Mary March Williams Exum.

After attending public schools in Greensboro through the eighth grade, James moved with his family to Raleigh, following his father’s election as an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. James attended and graduated from Virginia Episcopal High School in Lynchburg, VA; Louisburg College in Louisburg, NC (Associate of Arts); and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC (BA, Communications).

James was an Alcohol and Substantive Abuse Counselor at Butner, NC, after which he established a residence and a successful house painting company, Alumni Paint, in Carrboro, NC with his wife, Terri.

James had a lifelong interest in riding and repairing motorcycles. He enjoyed week-long motorcycle trips with his Dad and friends, including tours of Nova Scotia, Canadian provinces, cross-country trips in the United States and a delightful tour of Southern Ireland. He studied motorcycle repair at the Wyotech Motorcycle School in Ormand Beach, FL and worked as a Sales Associate and Service Technician for Britt Motor Sports in Morehead City, NC.

After returning to Greensboro in 2009, he worked as a Sales Associate in Holy Trinity Episcopal Church’s Sacred Garden Bookstore where he was responsible for special orders, store operations at church conventions, customer service and assisting registrants for the church’s Servant Leadership School.

His last job was with Lowe’s Hardware in Greensboro as a Sales Associate in the paint department. He worked there until an old ankle injury from a 12-foot fall off a roof flared up and rendered him disabled.

James loved music of all sorts and showered his family and friends via texts and emails with songs and artists he was currently listening to. In his younger days, he was an accomplished drummer, as was his grandfather, James G. Exum, Sr. The drumming lasted until he suffered a permanent, incapacitating injury to his wrist in a fall.

He also adored his nieces, Bella, Ava and Rosemary, and his nephew, Sawyer. When they were younger he frequently read them stories and performed magic tricks from his days as an amateur magician. They fondly recall these fun sessions with their Uncle James. His nieces all have musical interests. Rosemary is a budding pianist; Ava plays the banjo; and Bella is a professional dancer and singer, now appearing on stage in Madrid, Spain.

At the time of his death, James was living with his cousin, William March Jamison, his mother’s nephew, at a shared town house in Burlington. James was a kind, caring human being. He loved animals of all sorts. One of his final joys was feeding and caring for birds, including hummingbirds, that frequented his yard. Together with his family, James’ feathered, and other friends will miss him.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on March 22 at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Greensboro. Memorial gifts may be made to SPCA of the Triad, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, or a charity of your choice.