Full Name:  James Fredrick Hafele
     Born:  November 15, 1938, Jacksonville, Fla.
     Died:  July 6, 2019, Charlotte, N.C.
   School:  Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida

Year  No  Pos     Hgt  Wgt  B  T  Cl  Ltr  Hometown
1959      P       6-1  170        So       Jacksonville          

James (Jim) F. Hafele, 80, Charlotte, NC, passed away July 6, 2019 at home from bone marrow disease with his family with him.

Jim was born on November 15, 1938 in Jacksonville, Florida, to the late Helen Engle and Herman Elton Hafele. Jim grew up playing every sport he could, but he exceled at baseball - both pitching and hitting. As a young man Jim also loved to save money. The joke was that he still had the first two cents he ever made -- and he may have! He also routinely encouraged his father to save money and his parents were taken aback by his youthful fiscal conservatism.

Because of his great athleticism (and not his grades) Jim attended Florida State University on a baseball scholarship. The Admission Committee told Jim that with his mediocre high school transcript, his chances of earning a college degree were only 5 percent. Jim was a very handsome young man, known as a great dancer, and he had lots of dates. So his grades had really suffered in high school. But he kept his nose in the books in college and in 1961 received his B.S. in Business Administration. While at FSU, Jim also lettered in basketball, played tennis and was known to have a "killer serve." Being a true gentleman, Jim never served hard when he played a woman, but could literally knock men over with his serve. After graduation from Florida State, Jim entered the Navy for service.

During his career, Jim worked in financial sales management at US Leasing & American Credit Corporation. Jim was known for his leadership and results and won many awards during this time. But Jim did not like following "corporate rules" (like getting to work at 8 a.m.). So in 1982 he opened his own leasing business, Chesterfield Financial. Along with the sense of fiscal conservatism that he retained from his childhood, Jim's love of people and persistence made Chesterfield a success. Jim served as president until he retired in 1998.

In 1989, Jim married Vicki Klingmeyer (Taylor) Hafele. Vicki and Jim met through Calvary Church at a cookout. Jim was a devoted husband and always wanted to make sure Vicki was taken care of, even when friends would tell him he was going "a little overboard."

In addition to his wife, Vicki, he leaves behind his son Jay Morrison and wife Agnes, grandchildren Colby, Jessica, Nick and Luke, nephew Ron MacPhee, niece Linda MacPhee Clark, brother-in-law Tony Klingmeyer (Jane), sister-in-law Sandy Klingmeyer (Bruce) and many loving friends. He is predeceased by his parents and one sister, Barbara Jean MacPhee.

Jim cherished his family and felt so blessed to be a husband, father and grandfather. His joy also came from serving the Lord and helping others through Christian charities. He proudly served on the board of Jackson Park Ministries, provided leadership to Calvary Church Men's Prison Ministry, was a church deacon and, with long time Calvary member Harry Graham, served at Sunday altar calls for years.

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