To the Hall County community, he was a business and philanthropic giant — a man with a big vision and generous nature.

To Katie Dubnik, his 28-year-old granddaughter, James Mathis Sr. was known simply as "Poppy."

"Growing up, I ... didn’t even realize the impact he made in the community until we got a little older," said Dubnik, who lives in Gainesville.

"We greatly appreciate all the things he has done and all the lives he has touched. He’s been a great legacy and great role model — not only in what he has done for the community, but as a person."

Mathis was 84 when he died Sunday afternoon at Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

"He just passed away peacefully," Dubnik said. "He had been weakening over the past two weeks and had been to several doctors this past week."

Sunday morning, he woke up doing fine and talking. Later, after not "feeling very well at all," he went to the hospital and found "that he had multiple things going on ... and it was just a matter of time and keeping him happy," Dubnik said.

Little & Davenport Funeral Home in Gainesville will announce funeral services later.

Mathis, a Hall native, was president of Home Federal Savings & Loan Association, which later became a bank and subsequently merged with what is now SunTrust.

He created what is now called the annual Mule Camp Market and also was one of the driving forces in the creation of what is now Gainesville State College in Oakwood.

His names graces the college’s Dunlap-Mathis Building, which houses a testing center, offices and classrooms.

After the Board of Regents gave its blessing for a two-year college in Hall, Mathis headed "the task force that decided on the location and really got the county to vote for a bond issue that was used to buy the land and build the first couple of buildings," said the college’s president, Martha Nesbitt.

"He is truly one of the founders of the college," she added.

Shortly after Nesbitt was named president in 1997, Mathis approached her about funding an Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair.

"That meant we had to go and get five or six people in the community to give us $100,000 and then we could get the state legislature to match that," Nesbitt recalled. "... James was certainly instrumental in our getting that."

Mathis also "was very interested in art and contributed a number of really nice art pieces to the college," she said. "They’re on display in our art department."

Nesbitt also worked with Mathis and his wife, Frances, at the Northeast Georgia History Center at Brenau University.

"James was very instrumental in keeping that alive at a time when we weren’t real sure about what the future was going to be," Nesbitt said.

Pat Burd, the history center’s president, also was mourning Mathis’ passing.

"James was such a supporter of so many things in our community," she said. "... He was an idea man, but he wouldn’t just throw out ideas and then leave it for somebody else to figure out how to make it work."

Mathis had "such a keen interest in Northeast Georgia history and must have had volumes of information in his head, and he could tell stories," Burd said.

Dubnik remembers her grandfather’s storytelling skills and affection.

"He was very loving," she said. "He was a man who lived big and loved big."

Mathis also enjoyed that the due date for Dubnik’s first child is Sept. 17 — a week before what would have been his 85th birthday.

"We’ve already decided to name (the baby) James," she said. "I had my first baby shower (Sunday). That’s the circle of life, right?"

Mathis was born in the Hall County community of Klondike. He found his career in banking and his niche in creative marketing. Mathis, who attended Young Harris College, also was active in preservation of the history and environment of the North Georgia mountains. Mathis also served as Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 26 for many years and was an active member and supporter of First Baptist Church of Gainesville.