James (Jim) Martin Ruane, 55, passed away on August 3, 2024, from a tragic car accident.
Jim was born on November 7, 1968, to Richard J. and Dawn (nee Ryan) Ruane in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A natural athlete, Jim played baseball for the McCallie School and graduated from that school in 1987 making many life-long friends from there.
After high school, he attended Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. While at Furman, he joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) Fraternity and served as the Eminent Archon (President) of that organization.
Looking for a way to finish paying for his last two years of college, Jim realized that Army ROTC, rather than academic scholarships, might provide the best avenue for earning those funds.
Armed with this information, Jim attended the Army ROTC Basic Camp where, based on his leadership and officer potential, he successfully earned a 2-year Army ROTC scholarship and as a result joined Furman’s Army ROTC program where he was the Distinguished Military Graduate in 1991.
Through his experiences in SAE and Army ROTC, he continued to make many more life-long friends. He graduated from Furman in 1991 with a B.A. in Philosophy (his “B.A. in B.S.” as he jokingly called it) and received a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
Serving as an active-duty lieutenant in the Army, where he continued to make more of those life-long friends, Jim attended the Armor Officers’ Basic Course in Ft. Knox, Kentucky as well as the Army Airborne School in Fort Benning (now Moore), Georgia.
He then made his way to Ft. Hood (now Cavasos), Texas for his first duty assignment in the 1st Cavalry Division. In the 1st Cav, Jim served as a tank platoon leader and tank company Executive Officer in the 3/8 Cavalry Regiment.
While a part of this unit, Jim deployed to Kuwait twice during Fall of 1992 and Spring of 1993 for Operation Intrinsic Action. After serving two years in the Armor branch, Jim attended the Army’s Quartermaster School, becoming a logistics officer.
During his time in the Army, he received several accolades including the Army Achievement and Army Commendation medals. While he initially wanted to stay in the Armor branch, he began to see the benefits of becoming a logistics officer as he was initially assigned to the 27th Maintenance Battalion of the 1st Cavalry Division, which is where he met another lieutenant, Diane McKay.
While she initially thought that they would be “just friends” as she had a rule not to date anyone with whom she worked, Jim’s charm, wit, and persistence paid off, and she became his beloved wife of over 28 years.
After completing his active-duty Army commitment in 1995, Jim worked for Bank of America from 1996-2000 with a very brief career with Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company which made him realize it was the relationship aspect of these careers he valued most.
In 2001, Jim joined Chick-fil-A, Inc. as a Business Consultant. He later served as a Team Director of the Southwest and Atlantic Regions before joining the Franchisee Selection team in November 2020.
Jim valued greatly that he worked for an organization which reflected his personal and professional values to “glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.”
He valued the relationships he made in his almost twenty-three years with CFA and particularly enjoyed mentoring others. He was a caring friend who would speak the truth in love to help people become the best version of themselves.
A devoted man of God, Jim put his personal relationship with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as his number one priority and it influenced all of what he did.
He loved nature as he said he felt the presence of God in it, and he did his daily Bible devotional time every morning on the back porch as he listened to the birds and other nature sounds.
Jim was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church & School and served on their Board of Directors for many years. He also devoted years supporting his wife in her teaching career and their children in their own activities.
For his own hobbies, Jim gave up golf when his first child was born (“it took too much money and time away from his family”), but he picked up hiking as a hobby, spending hours upon hours taking the children on hikes to FDR State Park. He eventually even climbed Pikes Peak on two separate occasions.
He also enjoyed paddle boarding at Lake Peachtree and on the ocean in Destin, and he swam daily in his unheated pool from April until his birthday every year without fail. He also established a family tradition with his children to do a Polar Bear swim each New Years’ Day in the backyard pool.
With Diane, he enjoyed visiting their “bucket list” of cities, including Asheville, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Tampa, San Diego, Washington, D.C., Charleston as well as many more.
An amazing husband, father, and grandfather (“Pops”), Jim is survived by his wife, Diane; his children James, Thomas, Lydia, Peter, and his granddaughter, Lily Rose Ruane who will miss him immensely. He is also survived by his much-loved father Richard (Jim Sr.), his sister Charisse Howard, and his stepsiblings Andrew “Bo” Avel and Amanda Howard as well as a huge extended family of in-laws, nephews and nieces who loved him dearly.
Jim was predeceased by his mother Dawn, and his stepmother, Jeanne “Jill” Ruane.
Visitation with the family will be on Friday, August 9, 2024, at Mowell Funeral Home (180 N Jeff Davis Dr) in Fayetteville, Georgia. A funeral service will be on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at St. Paul Lutheran Church & School (700 Ardenlee Pkwy.) in Peachtree City, Georgia at 1 p.m. with a burial service and interment at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Georgia on August 12, 2024, at 1 p.m. Memorial donations in Jim’s honor may be made to St. Paul Lutheran Church & School or Compassion International.
We welcome you to leave your condolences, thoughts, and memories of Jim on our Tribute Wall. Mowell Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Fayetteville, www.mowells.com
