04/13/2026
Jesse Ronald Oakley
Jesse Ronald Oakley of 226 Beauregard Lane, Mebane, North Carolina, passed away on March 27, 2026. The son of Jesse Roberds Oakley and Carrie Cheek Oakley, he was born in Mebane, North Carolina on April 23, 1941. He graduated from Mebane High School in 1959, earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in history at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1963 and a doctorate in education and history at UNC-Greensboro in 1979. He taught social studies and French at Mountain View School in Marietta, Georgia, in 1963-1964, and history at Davidson County Community College in Lexington, North Carolina for 37 years (1966-2003), and served as chairman of the Social Science Department there for seven of those years.
Ron was married to Kathryn Clay Oakley a month shy of 53 years. She was the love of his life, his soulmate. They shared a common love of books and book clubs, plays, travel, and vacations at the beach. For 47 consecutive years, they spent a week at the beach every summer with members of Ron’s and Kathy’s families
After Kathy retired from Lexington State Bank in 2008, she and Ron moved to Ron’s hometown, Mebane NC, to be close to his large extended family, which seldom missed an opportunity to gather for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, holidays, and other special family events. Their home in Mebane was “the gathering place” for most of these family events.
A great lover of books, Ron amassed a large collection of books and wrote five of his own: God’s Country: America in the Fifties, Baseball’s Last Golden Age: The National Pastime in a Time of Glory and Change, 1950-1960, Davidson County Community College: The First Forty Years, Images of America: Mebane, and Growing Up in Alamance County. He also wrote numerous columns and articles in newspaper and journals. A lifelong Democrat, Ron voted in every election supporting candidates who believe in working with all parties to provide a democracy that is fair and equal to everyone. He encourages everyone to use their opportunity to vote for the good of all people. Ron was a lover of music, from classical to pop to country, bluegrass and gospel, and over a fifty-year period amassed a large collection of vinyl records and music DVDs and CDs. His passion for books, history and education led to his extracurricular activities. Ron was a former president and Board Member of the Friends of the Lexington Library and after moving to Mebane became a Board Member of the Friends of the Alamance County Public Libraries. He was also a Road Scholar presenter for the NC Humanities Council. He made numerous presentations to the Mebane Historical Society and to Haw River. After returning to his hometown, he was instrumental in creating the permanent exhibit for the newly established Mebane Historical Museum where he was a Board Member and former President.
To the very end Ron was thankful for the happy life he had led—his childhood, his parents and siblings, his teachers in Mebane schools and in college, his friends in Lexington and Mebane, his soda jerk job at Warren’s Drug when he was a teenager in the 1950s, his large extended family, his teaching jobs at Mountain View School and Davidson County Community College, and his good health for most of his life. If he could speak today, he would say “life was good.”
Ron was preceded in death by his parents, a brother (Billy Oakley), an infant sister (Exie Mae), sisters (Velma Kelly and Colleen Payne), nieces (Debbi Kelly Garren and Diana Payne Lance and Lynn Oakley) and nephew (Mike Kelly). He is survived by his wife Kathy and four generations of numerous nephews and nieces including special nieces Brenda Crutchfield, JoAnn Caulder, grandnieces Laura Key, Jennifer Stovall and Leslie Hohl. Ron was much loved by their friend Traci Chisholm and by Kathy’s extended family.
A special Thank You to the staffs of the Twin Lakes Community’s Coble Creek Health Center neighborhoods of Cascades and Blue Ridge and The Harbor Program, the ICU staff of Cone Health Alamance Regional Hospital and his friend and caregiver, James Yarboro. Your kindness and care were comforting and much appreciated.
Walker’s Funeral Home of Mebane will be serving the family. A Celebration of Life will be at the Mebane Historical Museum on Saturday, May 23, at 11:30 am. Ron and Kathy would like you to consider donations to the J. Ronald and Kathryn C. Oakley Scholarship at Davidson-Davie Community College Foundation PO Box 1287 Lexington NC 27293, the Mebane Historical Museum, the Friends of the Lexington Library, The Friends of the Alamance County Public Libraries or your favorite charity.
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