James Tilmon Keel, Jr.

   James Tilmon Keel, Jr., passed away peacefully on October 13, 2018, in Edenton, NC.

   He was born on February 24, 1938, in Greenville, NC, the son of the late James Tilmon Keel and Myrtie Holliday Keel. A graduate of Greenville High School and East Carolina College, he served in the US Army during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

   Tilmon worked in the family business that included farming, tobacco, and peanuts. He served as Vice President of Keel Peanut Company in Greenville and later moved to Edenton to take command of Jimbo’s Jumbos, turning a struggling peanut business into a leading processor of in shell peanuts and peanut ingredients. Subsidiaries of Jimbo’s Jumbos included Gillam Brothers Peanut Company, Lewiston Peanut Company, Gary’s Peanuts, Everfresh Peanuts, Borden Peanut Company, Keel Peanut Company, Dixie Peanut Company, and Los Angeles Nut House. Jimbo’s was acquired by Chock Full of Nuts, and later Morven Partners. Later acquisitions included Hoody’s of Beaverton, Oregon, and Fowler’s Famous Peanuts of Manchester, Connecticut, two pecan shelling companies and almond processing company in California. Business week magazine named him as one of the most successful businessmen in North Carolina. In 1989, First Wachovia magazine highlighted his accomplishments.

   Tilmon loved fishing at Hatteras and St. James City, Florida, and waterfowl hunting in Currituck County and on the Chesapeake Bay. His love of the water was reflected in his expression whenever he sat on his front porch facing Edenton Bay.

   A member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, he also enjoyed membership in the Edenton Yacht Club, the Hatteras Marlin Club, and service on the Peoples Bank Board and the American Peanut Council.

   Surviving are his wife, Linda Edwards Keel; daughters, Katherine Elizabeth Keel of Edenton, and Donna Keel Greenlee and husband, Richard, of Kill Devil Hills. He cherished his four grandchildren: Lucy Mae Rascoe, Nathan Keel Greenlee, Katherine Granbery Rascoe, and Ida Elizabeth Greenlee. He is also survived by his brother, Rufus Vanoy Keel, III of Chocowinity, and his sister, Elizabeth Hancock of Greenville.

   Following a private family burial, a memorial service will be held Friday, October 19^th, at 2:00 p.m. in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, and will be conducted by The Reverend Malone Gilliam.

   In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (on the memo line reference Tilmon Keel), P.O. Box 548, or the Chowan Arts Council, 504 South Broad Street, both in Edenton, NC 27932; or to the Hatteras Island Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 442, Hatteras, NC 27920.

   Online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.