Mr. Jacob "Jake" Edmond Kiser, Jr., 81, of 134 Valentine Drive, died Monday morning, April 18, 2011, at his home.

    The son of the late Ed and Verrie Smith Kiser, he was born on September 10, 1929, in Cleveland County, where he lived all his life except for a brief stint in the United States Army. He served several months in Koshien, Honshu, Japan, following World War II.

    Having worked as a trouble-shooter in the different plants and liaison with the New York Sales Office, he retired in 1992, having been employed by Doran (Dover) Textiles for forty-two years.  At the time of his retirement, he was manager of production and planning of weaving department.

    A sportsman and a man of sports, he received the Civitan of the Year honor for his heading up a fund-raising project for special education in Shelby schools.  Though he turned down an offer from the minor league in baseball, he spent his early years playing baseball and softball on local teams.  He was awarded the ASA Most Valuable Fast Pitch in the Midwestern North Carolina Tournament, and the Shelby Chamber of Commerce honored him with a certificate of Merit for his contribution to softball.

    Then came golf.  Though not golfing until 1962, he chalked up seven holes in one and won several tournaments as an individual and as a team member.  He counted the establishment of the Annual El-Rod Classic Golf Tournament in 2002 by the Kiser Group of Riverbend Golf Course as his highest honor.  His greatest accomplishent in golf was shooting 65 on a 90-degree summer day at River Bend, despite being 70 years old, having had double bypass surgery and the removal of his right lung because of cancer.  He was listed by The Shelby Star as one of the top ten golfers who has made a contribution to golf in Cleveland County.  More recently the boardroom at River Bend was named after him.

    In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his daughter Deborah Dawne Kiser; his brothers Ben G. Kiser and Gene Kiser; and his sister Christine Kiser Jones.

    He is survived by his wife of fifty-eight years, Frances Allen Kiser, of the home, and several neices and nephews, great neices and nephews, and great-great neices and nephews.

    The funeral will be Thursday at 3:00 P.M. at Lafayette Street United Methodist Church, with Dr. Tom Steagald presiding.  Burial will follow in Sunset Cemetery.

    The family will receive friends at 1:30 prior to the funeral at the church and at other times at the home.

    In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lafayette Street UMC Elevator Fund, 1420 S. Lafayette Street, Shelby, NC. 28152, or Holy Angels Nursery, Belmont, North Carolina.

Cecil M Burton Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the family of Mr. Kiser.

An online Guest Registry is available at www.cecilmburtonfuneralhome.com