Robert "Bob" Earl Poole

Robert Earl “Bob” Poole, a self-made man who built a legacy of success through hard work, strong family bonds, community service, unfailing generosity, and a winning smile for everyone he met, passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 6, 2025. He was 79 years old.

Born in Durham on November 26, 1945, Bobby Poole, as he was known back then, began honing his entrepreneurial spirit and diligent work ethic at a young age by delivering newspapers, stocking grocery store shelves, and taking on a variety of other jobs. After graduating from Durham High School, he began learning the office supply business by working for David’s Office Interiors in Durham. In 1973, with their young daughter in tow, he and wife Joan decided to move to Fayetteville, where he embarked on a business of his own. He began by going door-to-door, selling the likes of pens, pencils, legal pads, and calculator ribbons to local businesses from the back of his Plymouth sedan. But from those inconspicuous beginnings, Poole went on to secure contracts with Fayetteville’s most respected industries and to found one of its cornerstone businesses: Poole Office Supply and its 10,000-square-foot headquarters on Robeson Street. 

As president of his own successful company, Poole never forgot his roots. His family remembers that he regarded each of his customers as singularly important, from the person buying a pen refill to the one buying an expensive office desk. He also valued the community that supported him, and he served for decades with the Cumberland County Shrine Club, Exchange Club of Fayetteville, and Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville. He was a member of Snyder Memorial Church for more than 50 years.

But none of his contributions or accomplishments meant more to Bob Poole than his family. His daughter, Kathy Poole Armstrong, and son, Robert “Jason” Poole, were constant sources of pride, along with grandsons Josh and Hunter, who remember many a Friday morning enjoying hot glazed doughnuts at Krispy Kreme with their “Pops.”

Just weeks ago, Hunter Armstrong decided to wear the custom-made gold cross his Pops had given him in 2014, retrieving it from the storage box where he had kept it after the chain had broken. He figured a quick tweak from a pair of pliers would secure it, but after an 18-hole round of golf, he reached at his neck and realized the cross was missing. Fearing it was likely long gone, he nevertheless retraced his steps to the left of the 18th green, where he had launched his chip shot to the green. There was the cross, half-buried in the grass, but glinting in the sun.

“A nudge by God,” Hunter said.

Bob Poole was preceded in death by his parents, Earl and Ruth Poole, and by an older brother, James Lewis Poole. He is survived by his sister, Earlene Poole Jackson, and by children Kathy and Jason, and son-in-law Chris Armstrong. He also is survived by grandsons Joshua Tyler Armstrong (Caroline) and Hunter Leighton Armstrong (Charlotte) and was delighted by the births of young great-grandsons Hampton Lee Armstrong and Robert Bratcher Armstrong. The close relationship he maintained with former wife Joan Poole was a source of comfort for both of them throughout the years.

Bob Poole also leaves behind a great many friends who are left to cherish the memories of many a fun golf outing, trips to the North Carolina mountains, trips to Atlantic City, N.J., and selfless community activities. He and longtime friend Kenny Godwin even loved dressing up in full clown garb and makeup, and converting a golf cart into a clown car, all in the name of helping little children in need.

A celebration of Bob Poole’s life will be held at 11:30 a.m., Friday, April 11, 2025, at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, preceded by a visitation in the church at 10 a.m. The family wishes to thank Bob’s gracious and loving caregivers at The Carolina Inn, where he loved bingo nights and cocktail hours and made many more good new friends in his later years. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Fayetteville Animal Protection Society at https://www.fapspet.org/.

Online condolences may be left at http://www.jerniganwarren.com

Arrangements by Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home, 545 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC 28301

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