Joseph “Joe” Neal Sinclair Jr.

Joseph “Joe” Neal Sinclair Jr., 84, of Aberdeen, died Thursday, May 17, 2012, at Duke Raleigh Hospital.
Funeral services will be conducted at 4 p.m. Monday, May 21, 2012, at Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen, with the Rev. Jonathan Wallace officiating.
Burial will follow at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Southern Pines. The family will receive friends from 2:30-3:30 p.m. at the church.
Joe was born Nov. 11, 1927, in Rowland, N.C., to the late Joe (Sr.) and Grace Sinclair. He graduated from Rowland High School and then enrolled at Presbyterian Junior College in Maxton. He graduated from N.C. State College (now N.C. State University) in Raleigh in 1951, earning a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served two years and was stationed in Panama, where he was an X-ray technician.
After completing his military service, Joe married the former Ruth Spears Smith, of Rowland. He was employed by Lumbee River Electric Membership Corporation in Red Springs. He then went to work for Carolina Power & Light Co. (now Progress Energy) in Maxton as an agricultural development engineer. He was transferred to the Southern Pines office in 1967. He later became an industrial power engineer. He retired in 1989.
In earlier years, Joe was a member of the Aberdeen Jaycees, the Aberdeen Lions Club and the Forest Hills neighborhood association. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Southern Pines for 19 years. He served in a number of capacities, including deacon. For the last 21 years, he has been a member of Bethesda Presbyterian Church, where his wife, Ruth, serves as organist. He served in many leadership positions, including elder and deacon.
Joe gained quite a bit of notoriety over the years for his joke-telling abilities and for serving as roast master at numerous retirement parties for his colleagues at CP&L/Progress Energy, even after his own retirement, as well as other events and programs. He was also the official joke teller for the MACs (Mature Adult Christian) at his church. His gift of bringing laughter to others will be one of the indelible marks of his life. He was also well-known for his concern for others and his generosity, as well as a deep appreciation for the performing arts.
Aside from his love for his family, one of Joe’s greatest joys was spending time at their summer home near Linville in the North Carolina mountains, where he and Ruth had made many friends over the years.
He leaves behind to cherish his memories, Ruth, his wife of 57 years; daughter, Terri Sinclair, and husband, John Galland, of Pinehurst; a son, David, of Pinehurst; brothers Guy Sinclair, and wife, Linda, of Orange, Calif., and Jimmy Sinclair, and wife, Margaret, of Symrna, Ga.; and cousins Frances Cates, of Chapel Hill, Louise Bost, of Durham, Graham Smith, of Haw River, and Ann Taylor of Pooler, Ga.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the organ fund at Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen.
Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneralhome.com.
Boles Funeral Home and Crematory in Southern Pines is serving the family.