Lester Durrett “Bub” Coltrane III ’40

Lester Durrett “Bub” Coltrane III ’40 of The Gardens of Taylor Glen and a former resident of Ingleside Drive, Concord, N.C., passed away March 28, 2007. He graduated from Concord High School and was the class salutatorian. At Davidson, he was a manager of the football team and a member and past president of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He went to work at Concord National Bank in 1940, and in January 1941 he volunteered for the U.S. Army. He attended OCS while in service and upon his discharge, he held the rank of major. Serving more than five years, he was in the European Theater under Gen. George Patton before being discharged in 1946. In 1943, while still in service, he married Phyllis Crooks. After his discharge, he returned to Concord National Bank, where he served as president for thirty years. During this time, CNB merged with Citizens National Bank to become First Charter National Bank, where he was the first CEO. He served as treasurer of the North Carolina Bankers Association. He also served on the Federal Reserve Bank Board in Charlotte. He served on the boards of Cabarrus Savings and Loan, Concord Telephone Company, and Kerr Bleachery. He retired from the bank in 1987. Bub was very active in First Presbyterian Church, serving as deacon, elder, church treasurer, and as a church trustee. He was also president of his Sunday school class. He then served ten years as president, CEO, chairman of the board, and director of CT Communications. Very active in community affairs, he was president of the Jaycees, headed the United Way, was president of the Chamber of Commerce, president of the Rotary Club, Salvation Army (and a lifetime member of the board) and many fundraising efforts in the county. “Bub” was a member of the Concord Museum and Concord Historical Society. He served on the board and was a past chairman of NorthEast Medical Center for twenty-eight years. He was instrumental in the establishment of the NorthEast Medical Center Foundation and served on this board. He was the Jaycees’ Junior Man of the Year and also Senior Man of the Year. He and his wife were named Woman of the Year and Man of the Year by the BPW. He received the American Legion fifty-year award. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and loved working with flowers. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lester D. Coltrane Jr. and Blanche Brown Coltrane; by a son, Daniel B. Coltrane ’70; a daughter-in-law, Anne Collins Coltrane; and a sister, Betty Gay Bivens. Survivors include his wife of sixty-four years, Phyllis Crooks Coltrane, 3700 Taylor Glen Ln., Apt. 255-C, Concord, N.C. 28027; son, Michael R. Coltrane ’68 of Concord; daughter, Gay Coltrane Ausband and husband, Robert, of Daleville, Va.; grandson, Mark Allen; granddaughter, Julia Allen; step-granddaughter, Elizabeth Trible and husband; step-grandson, Zachary Ausband and wife.