James Theodore Flink, 68, of Cary, NC went to be with our Lord and Savior, Jesus, on
Monday, October 10, 2022.
Jim (AKA Teddy) was born in Norway, MI on April 28, 1954, to the late Charles
Frederick Flink and Joan Carol (Johnson) Flink. He was very proud of his hometown
roots and being called a Yooper. It was here he learned about nature, how to fish, hunt,
speed skate and learned to play golf. He feasted on fresh walleye and perch, hot
homemade pasties, and his mother’s famous pumpkin bars.
In October 1969, the Flink family moved to Pittsburgh, PA where Jim attended North
Hills High School. He honed his golf skills and earned a top spot on the North Hills High
School golf team. An avid fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jim
found the perfect job working as a vendor at Three Rivers Stadium to earn money to
pay for college while watching his favorite teams. Jim excelled on the course for the
West Virginia University Mountaineers golf team and graduated with a BA in Business
Management in 1976. After graduation he headed back to Pittsburgh, PA to pursue
careers in banking and real estate.
Jim moved to Raleigh, North Carolina in 1986 where he continued his real estate career
with ADARON. An entrepreneur at heart, Jim co-founded Vanguard Associates in 1987
and, with his partners, grew the firm into a regional commercial brokerage services
company before selling to The St. Joe Company. After selling Vanguard, he joined
Dilweg Companies as partner where he focused on apartment acquisitions. Jim worked
as Director of Land Advisory at Cushman & Wakefield and as Executive Vice President of Colliers International before joining APG Advisors and Capital in 2019 as Executive Vice President.
Jim’s passion for his profession was only surpassed by his undying love for his family.
He adored his wife Nancy, the love of his life. She made him intensely happy and filled
his heart with joy. Although Jim had no children of his own, he was much beloved as
friend, mentor, and surrogate uncle to many young people who all thought of him as
family.
A scratch golfer, Jim had a limitless passion for the game, but one of golf’s most sought-
after achievements eluded him – a hole-in-one on a par 3 that is. In 2005, Jim aced one
of the par 4’s at the Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh. Jim’s spectacular feat was
matched less than 24 hours later when wife Nancy aced the famed par 3 island green at
Prestonwood Country Club. Making Nancy’s accomplishment all the more special was
the fact that their home was adjacent to that 17th hole. Jim and Nancy made national
headlines, and in typical Jim fashion, he was more thrilled with Nancy’s achievement
than his own. He had a teacher’s heart for golf and was notorious for helping friends
with tips to improve their swing. He was a member at Prestonwood CC and Forest
Creek for several years, and most recently could be seen at Lonnie Poole GC or
Lochmere every weekend working on his game.
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He gave his time, talent, and treasure to one of his favorite charities, Fairways for
Warriors, which provides hope, healing, and camaraderie for combat wounded veterans
and their families.
The hallmark of Jim’s life was his strong faith and being a follower of Jesus. He shared
the gospel at every opportunity and his life continued to flourish in faith and fellowship
with friends. He never met a stranger and was genuinely interested in people and their
personal lives; he saw the best in everyone. Always mischievous with a pervasive grin
and a twinkle in his eye, Jim loved his "Manny's", was a great joke teller, and sharer of UP stories and songs. As one friend put it “Jim was my best friend, an honor I proudly
share with 30 or 40 other guys.” And to that Jim would say “Ya, you betcha!”
Born in Norway, Michigan on April 28, 1954, he was the son of the late Charles and
Joann Johnson Flink. Surviving are his beloved wife of 27 years, Nancy Gramling Flink, his brothers, Frederick Flink (Grace Holleman) of Norway, MI, Patrick Flink (Bonnie) of Cranberry Twp., PA, his sisters, Jane Carter (Roch) of Mequon, WI., Julie Hepner (John) of Dayton, Ohio and Sally McDonald (Chris) of Dorr, MI, his nephews, Brian and Jason Flink and Tanner Hepner, his nieces, Ashley Hepner, Brittany O’Connor (Patrick), Madison McDonald, Natalie McDonald, Meghan Schultz, Marissa Schultz, Alona Hepner, Kiernan O’Connor and Marin O’Connor, son-in-law of Barbara Gramling and the late Wayne Gramling, brother-in-law, Glenn Gramling (Karyn), a sister-in-law, Sally Roscetti (Tony), and Nancy’s nephews, Morgan, Adam and Christian Gramling and a niece, Katy Roscetti.
Our family is heartbroken. We are so blessed to have each other in this difficult time. As
we grieve Jim's loss and embrace his memory, we ask for your prayers. We also ask
that you honor Jim’s life and his way by motivating, encouraging, and expressing your
love to your family and friends.
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Friends are invited to a Memorial Service on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 2:00 PM at the First United Methodist Church, 117 South Academy Street, Cary, N.C. 27511. You can view a video of the service here. Listen to the "Visiting Hours" song by Molly & Hannah McCarthy here.
A Celebration of his life will follow from 3-5 PM at Embassy Suites, 201 Harrison Oaks Blvd. Cary, N.C. 27513. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to one of Jim’s favorite charities from this site www.jimflink.com. Arrangements are under the direction of the McDonald-Aeberli Funeral Home, Inc. 238 Crowe Ave. Mars, PA and condolences are available at https://www.mcdonald-aeberli.com/obituary/JamesTTeddy-Flink.
