P.J. Coble

Paul Junior "P.J." Coble passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday, January 6, 2018 at the age of 85. He was born in Alamance County on April 23, 1932. He was the husband of Donna Greeson Coble for 67½ years and was the son of the late Paul Monroe Coble and Mable Sharpe Coble. P.J. was the father of four sons, Tim (Barbara), Tom (Debby), Tony (Sandy) and Terry Coble all of Burlington, NC. He is survived by his wife, 2 sons, Tony and Terry, and sisters, Helen Swinson and Sue Coble, both of Burlington. He was the grandfather of 10 grandchildren; Melanie Lowe, Matt Coble, Jenny Campbell, Misty Hedspeth, Tony Coble, Jr., Bryan Coble, Brandon Coble, Ashley Barnhardt, Adam Coble and Jason Coble. P.J. was also the great grandfather to 23 great grandchildren; Ryan Coble, McKinnley Lowe Hinshaw, Madelyn Lowe, Miriam Campbell, Hannah Campbell, Micah Lowe, George Campbell, Peter Hedspeth, William Campbell, Emma Coble, Jedediah Lowe, Rosemary Hedspeth, Hallie Barnhardt, Anna Coble, Isaac Hedspeth, Ada Coble, Avonlea Lowe, Norah Coble, Kinsey Barnhardt, Lila Coble, Khallie Lowe, Eden Coble and an unborn great-granddaughter, Josephine Hedspeth, due in April.
He was preceded in death by 2 sons, Tim Coble and Tom Coble, two grandsons, Tony Coble, Jr. and Matt Coble, his parents, 2 brothers, Harold Coble and Steve Coble and a sister, Ruth Coble Brown.
He was a member of Beacon Baptist Church.
He was the founder and president of P.J. Coble Construction Company, Coble Equipment, Coble Cranes and Interstate Concrete, all located in Burlington, NC. He founded P.J. Coble Construction Company over 50 years ago. The first 20 years he primarily built houses, including 95% of the houses in Red Oak Acres in Burlington. He then started building commercial properties, a few of which were the following: Beacon Baptist Church, Burlington Assembly of God, Alamance Baptist Church, Agape Baptist Church, City Lake Baptist Church, Biomedical Labs and Warehouse, Burlington Lincoln-Mercury, the John Vernon Building, the Duke Power Building, Nova Scientific, Green Fuel and Gas, two NCNB bank buildings, Sellars Department Stores, two Advance Auto Parts stores, all located in the Burlington area. In addition, a few of his out of town projects were Parkland Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, and a Home Maintenance House in Greensboro. Several schools were built by Mr. Coble, including Northeast Guilford Elementary School, North Graham Elementary School, Haw River Elementary School and Orange County Gymnasium.
One of his most unusual jobs was in 1977 when he was hired to move the Depot in downtown Burlington from the railroad tracks to its present location. He also added the amphitheater. Later, he closed up Main Street by installing flower boxes and canopies, and laid brick pavers where the street was, making it into a mall area. A few years later, he was contracted to remove the brick pavers, remove the canopies, and open the street to traffic again, and it is still that way today.
Last but not least, he was a big NASCAR fan. One time he had the opportunity to drive a racecar 20 laps around the Charlotte Motor Speedway. In his younger years, he competed in micro-midget racing. He has also been known to race lawn mowers from time to time. P.J. also loved playing with the grandchildren and giving generously to those in need.
Funeral services will be held on at 2:00 pm Monday, January 8, 2017 at Beacon Baptist Church by Rev. Michael R. Karns, Rev. Greg Barkman and Rev. Bob LaTour. Interment will follow at Alamance Memorial Park. Mr. Coble will remain at Lowe Funeral Home until being taken to the church where he will lie in state 30 minutes prior to the funeral service. The family will receive friends from 3-5 pm Sunday at Lowe Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, contributions should be made to Heart's Cry Children's Ministry; P.O. Box 17507, Raleigh, NC 27619, or HeartsCryChildren.com. This ministry is an orphanage in Panama for special needs children and is operated by our granddaughter, Misty Coble Hedspeth and her husband, Matt. Contributions may also be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Alamance-Caswell; 914 Chapel Hill Rd., Burlington, NC 27215.

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