James 'Jim' Coad, III

James "Jim" Coad III, 74, of Huntersville went to be with the Lord on December 8, 2024. He was born on August 25, 1950, in Statesboro, Georgia, to the late James Coad, Jr. and Evalyn Coad.

Jim was a godly Christian man who brought laughter and the love of Christ to everyone he encountered. As a boy, Jim grew up, in his own words, “all over Georgia,” and he was an active, adventurous youth. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and was part of the Order of the Arrow, two of the highest achievements given by the Boy Scouts of America. But Jim was both an avid outdoorsman and an exceptional scholar, attending the Georgia Governor’s Honor Program, a summer program for “skilled, knowledgeable, and talented” students, and graduating from Franklin County High School with Top Student awards from all but one of his subjects. He graduated from Covenant College in 1972 with his B.A., briefly attended Erskine seminary from 1974-1975, and transferred to Covenant Theological Seminary where he received his M. Div. degree in 1979. He served in both the Due West area and at Mt. Zion ARP church during his years in seminary and pursued additional studies in missions at Columbia International University.

During his final year at Covenant College, Jim went on a short term mission trip with his father to Mexico where he quickly fell in love with the culture, the people, and a lovely local girl named Gala, or as her friends and family called her, “Galita.” After graduating, he returned to Mexico to learn more about the country and culture and ask Galita to be his girlfriend. Jim continued to return to Mexico during his summer and winter breaks, learning Spanish, continuing his studies, and further falling in love with Mexico, the indigenous people and children of the Huasteca region, and his bride-to-be. They were married in Mexico in the summer of 1981 while Jim was still pastoring at Mt. Zion ARP Church in Missouri. They served there until 1982 when they decided to return to Mexico as missionaries through World Witness. Jim took mission-oriented classes at Columbia Bible College and language classes at Rio Grande Bible Institute in preparation to return to Mexico full time in January 1984.

For the next 28 years, Jim and Galita would faithfully serve the church in Mexico working with local churches, hosting American missions groups, and raising their three girls. Jim additionally worked in the Huasteca by assisting lay pastors in receiving their theological degrees, teaching classes at the seminary in Tampico, and assisting church plants in the states of Veracruz, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí. They moved to part-time mission work in 2012 and retired in 2016, but Jim continued to faithfully serve his church, his community, and all he came in contact with throughout his life, most recently serving as a visitation pastor at Huntersville ARP.

Not only was Jim a spiritual leader and faithful witness on the mission field, but he was also a dedicated husband, father, and grandfather. He loved to go for walks and explore, work outside in the yard, and every Saturday during the season, he would set aside the afternoon to watch Georgia football. He was always ready to volunteer his time, to share his wisdom, to serve as a spiritual mentor, and to talk about his Savior Jesus Christ.

Survivors include his wife Galita Coad; daughters, Evalyn Coad (Gamaliel Pozos) McAllen, TX, Wendy Wells (Daxell) of Albania, Michele Taylor (Nate) of Huntersville; siblings, Kathy Capps (Phil), Jac Coad (Debbie) and 7 grandchildren. His sister Anne Waid preceded him in death.

Memorials may be made to World Witness. https://worldwitness.org/give-landing-page

Visitation will be held 10AM Tuesday, December, 17 at Huntersville A.R.P. Church with the funeral to follow at 11 AM. A graveside service will be held at Due West A.R.P. Church at 3:30 that afternoon. The funeral service will be live-streamed on the Huntersville A.R.P. Church YouTube page.

James Funeral Home of Huntersville is serving the family.