City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Aaron Jones Yorke IV

Raleigh, North Carolina

Age 91.
Died 03/26/2023.

Aaron Jones Yorke IV
Aaron Jones Yorke IV died in his Raleigh, North Carolina home on Sunday March 26, 2023. Born in Concord, North Carolina, June 21, 1931, Yorke enjoyed a rich and accomplished life.

He attended the Webb School, where he was recently awarded Distinguished Alumnus, proudly attended Davison College, and graduated Bachelor of Science, from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1953.

After serving in the United States Army Counterintelligence Corps, 1953-1955, he attended Harvard Business School, where he earned his Master in Business Science in 1957. Upon graduation, he was recruited as the assistant to the chairman at Food Machinery Corp. (FMC) 1959 – 1962.

Yorke began his long and distinguished securities career joining Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, as vice president 1962-1971. In 1971 he was named executive director of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington D.C, where he served until 1973.

In 1973, he returned to the public securities sector joining Paine, Webber Jackson & Curtis, 1973-1977, serving as president, 1974-1976, and then vice chairman of the board, 1976-1977.

Yorke was a visionary and early champion for the computerization of the securities industry, predicting it as the future for small investors and the industry alike. “It’s conceivable eventually that trading floors won’t be needed anymore. All it will take is a computer – who knows?”, San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle, February 6, 1972.

From 1975-1977, he served on the board of directors of the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He went on to join Bruns, Nordeman, Rea & Company, senior partner & director, 1978-1982, and Laidlaw, Adams & Peck, Inc., executive vice president, 1982-1984. From there, he founded Yorke McCarter Owen & Bartels Inc., and OMY, Ltd., and served as managing director of Asset Channels, Inc.

His final achievement was serving as chairman of the 42d Street Development Corporation, changing the face of “Theater Row”, and creating Music and the Brain, a program designed to help students build skills and succeed academically by bring music literacy to under resourced communities.

He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, the Institute of Chartered Finance Analysts, and The Brook Club.

Mr. Yorke is survived by his two daughters, Bryan Lane Yorke, Laura Best Yorke, son-in-law, David Joseph Wallace, nephew, Coleman Yorke Lawson, and his two grandsons, Richard Elliott Snyder, Jr., and Coleman Lawson Yorke.

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


You can share this obituary using the following address, or click the button below to share on Facebook.

City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

Our Promise

Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.

Our Services

icon
Direct Cremation

$1196.75

Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.

icon
Cremation with Solidified Remains

$2875.66

We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.

icon
Cremation with Visitation

$1917.84

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.

icon
Immediate Burial

$2497.50

An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.

icon
Traditional Funeral

$6081.48

We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.

icon
Green Burial

$3033.75

This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.

icon
Aquamation

$2640.59

As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.

City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations