City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
James Howell
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 88.
Died 03/13/2026.
He was born in Badin, North Carolina, to Conrad and Letha Howell, and was raised in Ellerbe, North Carolina, where his family had deep roots. He grew up with a quick wit and a sense of humor that remained one of his most memorable traits throughout his life.
Jim attended St. Andrews Presbyterian College, earning his bachelor’s degree, and went on to complete a Master’s degree in Education from East Carolina University, a Master’s in Psychology from North Carolina Central University, and a Doctorate in Adult Education from North Carolina State University.
He served in the U.S. Army, including a tour of duty in Germany, where he worked as a personnel clerk in a MASH unit.
Jim devoted much of his professional life to teaching. Over his career he taught at Carolina Military Academy, Wilson Technical Institute, Nash Community College, and East Carolina University, guiding and mentoring generations of students.
His passion for acting and theater began in high school, where he starred in Arsenic and Old Lace in 11th grade and played major roles in Teen Time and Perfect Idiot during his senior year. In college, he wrote, directed, and performed in his own comedy skit and later starred in Arsenic and Old Lace and My Three Angels. He continued performing throughout his life—directing plays while teaching at Carolina Military Academy, portraying Caiaphas in Worthy Is the Lamb for 11 years, appearing in the film Love Field alongside Michelle Pfeiffer and Denzel Washington, and performing with the Richmond Theater in Send Me No Flowers and Our Town.
He is survived by his sons and their wives, Marc and Toni Howell of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Vic and Jill Howell of Salt Lake City, Utah; and by his grandchildren, Meg Howell of Raleigh, North Carolina, Gwen Hegenbotham and her husband Brodie of Durham, North Carolina, Abby Howell of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Jude Howell of Salt Lake City, Utah.
A private family service will be held.
Jim had a remarkable sense of humor and delighted in making others laugh. He never missed an opportunity for a joke or a witty comment, and his playful spirit brightened the lives of everyone who knew him. His love of teaching, storytelling, and performing reflected a life spent sharing joy, curiosity, and laughter with others.
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.