City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
James "Jimmy" Francis Kitson
Wake Forest, North Carolina
Age 55.
Died 04/24/2026.
He was born in Long Island, New York, on March 18, 1971, to Robert and Patricia Kitson. Jimmy moved with his family to Pinehurst, North Carolina, the summer before his junior year of high school, attending Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines. Jimmy had a gift for friendship and a warmth that drew people to him naturally — in his senior year, he was voted most popular by his peers. After high school, he attended his dream school, NC State, where he was an active member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and developed lifelong bonds with his Brothers. There was always a group chat going for every NC State sporting event. Go Pack!
Jimmy was a natural leader whose career reflected both his ambition and his people-first approach. He spent 15 years at Healthpoint/Smith & Nephew, a journey that took his family from North Carolina to Wisconsin and Texas, where he thrived in every role. The pull of family eventually brought him back to North Carolina, where he joined Align Technologies as Director of Sales and Development for the Americas. Of all his roles, Training and Development was the one Jimmy cherished most. He mentored hundreds of employees, took a genuine interest in each person, and made a lasting impact on their professional and personal lives, keeping up with them for years and celebrating their milestones long after they had moved on.
The most important thing in Jimmy’s life was always his family. He adored his wife of 26 years, Christy, and his children, Connor and Kelcie. He coached dozens of sports teams, and watching his children grow up was his greatest joy. Jimmy was humble in most things — except when it came to his kids. If you knew Jimmy, you knew everything about Connor and Kelcie. But his pride extended far beyond his own children. He took a genuine interest in all of his friends’ kids, streaming games from multiple colleges on a given Saturday to cheer them on, sending thoughtful texts about what they did well, attending their games, and, as they grew into coaches themselves, showing up to watch them lead. Jimmy was everyone’s biggest fan.
Regardless of what life threw his way, Jimmy met every challenge with unwavering positivity. That mental toughness carried him through a five-year health journey after being diagnosed with porocarcinoma, a rare skin cancer. Before surgery to remove the cancer in his skull, he chose a mantra: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” Philippians 4:13. He lived by those words every step of the way. True to his nature, he channeled that experience into helping others, authoring the best-selling book We Got This — Leadership Principles Learned and Reinforced Through a 12 Month Battle with Cancer. Even in the hospital, Jimmy chose gratitude over complaint, grateful for his amazing life, grateful his family was healthy, and moved to empathy whenever he saw sick children and their families nearby. He never complained.
Jimmy never met a stranger. He was on a first-name basis with everyone, from grocery store clerks to the staff at the local ice cream shop. He showed his love through his cooking, and his passion for it ran deep. It wasn’t unusual to find him smoking a brisket, filet, or pork butt on the Traeger for a weekday dinner. That passion grew into something bigger: Jimmy created Baldman Barbecue, complete with his own signature spice and rub, and it became a household name among friends. The slogan "Good Better Bald" started as something personal but took on a life of its own, becoming a rallying cry for those fighting cancer and undergoing chemo. Jimmy would send them hats and t-shirts.
His excitement for life was infectious. Whether he was planning the next family adventure, cheering for NC State, the Carolina Hurricanes, or Liverpool, or blasting the Zac Brown Band and Foo Fighters through every scan and operation, Jimmy was excited about life, and because he was, everyone around him was too. He made everything more fun just by being himself.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Christy Michelle Kitson; son Connor Kitson (23); and daughter Kelcie Kitson (18). His mother, Patricia Kitson of Pinehurst, NC; sister Suzanne Johnson of Pinehurst, and her husband Jamie Johnson and their children Erica and Aidan Johnson; brother Michael Kitson of New York, NY, and his husband Josh Kitson; and sister Mary Kitson of Pinehurst and her daughter Kitson O’Neal. He is preceded in death by his father, Robert Martin Kitson of Pinehurst, NC. Along with a host of other relatives and friends.
Services will be held at Prime Barbecue in Knightdale, North Carolina, on Saturday, May 2nd, at 6:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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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
$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.
$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.
$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.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$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.
$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.
$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.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home offers Alkaline Hydrolysis. The Alkaline Hydrolysis process uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.