James Thomas “Jim” Landen Jr. | Eastern NC Now

    James Thomas "Jim" Landen Jr. passed away peacefully on the evening of Wednesday, August 27, 2025 in Greenville, NC. He was 61. Information regarding a memorial service will be provided at a later date.

    Jim was born January 8, 1964 in Bethel, NC to James Thomas "Tom" Landen Sr. and Glenda Edwards Landen. He grew up in Washington, the eldest of three sons. He graduated from Washington High School in 1982 and attended North Carolina State University. He was a lifelong Wolfpack enthusiast. He went on to become a drafting specialist and Sales Engineer at Charcoal Service Company in Bath, NC for over 20 years. He later worked for Camfil Farr, SpinRite and Sesame Technologies, retiring in 2023.

    During his childhood, he enjoyed water-skiing and cleaning crabs with his grandparents at their summer home in South Creek. He loved going to Atlanta Braves games with his granddaddy and brothers. His parents purchased and operated The Mecca poolroom in downtown Washington when he was in third grade. He loved telling stories of all the characters and friends he met there through the decades of working and shooting pool. He was an excellent billiards player all of his life and said it combined his love for geometry and competition.

    He was a skilled athlete and had a special love for all things sports. He played varsity football, was an All-Conference baseball player and ran in local road races from middle school into adulthood. He also loved playing slow pitch softball as an adult. After his playing days, Jim spent many years playing catch and throwing batting practice to his son's little league, AAU and school teams. He rarely missed a game from T-ball until Senior Night and was easily spotted standing halfway down the right field line providing subtle tips and words of encouragement.

    Known by most to be soft-spoken, he would often surprise folks with a hilarious one-liner or obscure fun fact. He passionately loved cooking on the grill, watching western movies and whistling along to any and all kinds of music.

    Jim was a truly caring husband and father. He was staunchly loving and supportive of his family and always gave priority to their needs and wants over his own. He was always kind, patient and unassuming.

    He is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 33 years, Donnell Glisson Landen and their precious infant children Donald Augustus and Jillian Hope Landen as well as his aforementioned loving parents and sister-in-law, Juanita Glisson Whitehurst.

    He is survived by his son, James Prescott "Jamie" Landen and his fiancée Lainey Finch of Charlotte; his sweet doggie Honey; his brothers Mike Landen (Dawn) of Washington and Joe Landen (Katrina) of Longs, SC; his sisters-in-law, Gwyn Glisson Landen (Tommy) of Stokes and Rita Glisson Staton (Kevin Lee) of Greenville; brother-in-law: Lanie Whitehurst of Jackson, TN; as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews who he loved dearly.

    Although he never sought the spotlight, his love and influence will shine on forever.

    In lieu of flowers, please send donations to any of the following causes in his memory:

    March of Dimes: https://www.marchofdimes.org/donate-now

    ASPCA: https://secure.aspca.org/donate/ps-gn-p1?linked=1

    Shatterproof: https://donate.shatterproof.org/page/77696/donate/1

    Paul Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Landen family.