James Folds

1940 - 2025

James Donald Folds passed away on December 22, 2025 in Hilton Head, South Carolina with his wife and his sons by his side. He was 85 years old.

James was born in Augusta, Georgia in 1940, the beloved only child of James Earl Folds and Kathleen Smith Folds. He attended Richmond Academy and received his B.S. degree from the University of Georgia and Ph.D. from the Medical College of Georgia. Following a post-doctoral fellowship in Immunology at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio, he took a teaching and research position in the departments of Bacteriology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina Medical School and he and his family moved to Chapel Hill.

James was a devoted father who adored his children and served as a mentor to many other children in Chapel Hill. He coached countless recreation league football, basketball, and baseball teams with his characteristic good nature and had a significant impact on many. He was a strong supporter of the junior high and Chapel Hill High School sports teams and an omnipresent figure in the stands at their games for many years. He had a lifelong love of baseball and dreamed of playing for the New York Yankees. When he realized that this was not likely, he turned his attention to golf and became an accomplished player who loved playing with his sons, his friends on the weekends, and nearly qualified for the Scottish Senior Open in 1994. He was a parishioner at the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill and All Saints Episcopal Church in Hilton Head.

James was a loving husband to his wife, Carolyn (Kaky) for more than sixty years. James found great comfort in the simple pleasures, especially Kaky's baking, and he appreciated every bite as a heartfelt expression of her love. He particularly appreciated the chocolate bites. Their life together was filled with devotion and gentle humor. They enjoyed family time, travelling domestically and abroad, detective shows, and exploring the seafood restaurants in Chapel Hill and Hilton Head. They adored their grandchildren and were active in their lives.

Professionally, Dr. Folds was a full professor at the UNC School of Medicine and served as Director of Clinical Laboratories at UNC Hospitals. He was a well-known and popular figure throughout the UNC hospital community. He was also a recognized scholar in the field of Clinical Immunology, authored numerous books and articles, and served on many professional boards and committees. Dr. Folds was honored in 2000 as the recipient of the Abbott Laboratories Award in Clinical and Diagnostic Immunology. And in 2009, the James D. Folds Distinguished Professorship in Clinical Microbiology was established at UNC.

James is survived by his wife, Carolyn Cadle Folds, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, two sons, and five grandchildren. His son James Donald Folds, Jr. lives in Davidson, North Carolina with his wife, Mary Kim Folds, and their children, James Donald Folds III and Mary Patrick Folds. His son John David Folds lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Elizabeth Joy Hesler and their children, Quentin Arthur Folds, Sophie Rose Folds, and Lexie Grace Folds. He will be greatly missed.

The family would like to recognize and express its appreciation to Dr. Folds' caregivers in recent years, including Valeria Grant, Stacy Wilson, Christina Bates, and Eric Torres.

The family will have a private service in the coming weeks. In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer donations in honor of Dr. Folds to The Deepwell Project in Hilton Head or the James and Carolyn Folds Scholarship at the University of the South.