Joe was born on Oct. 11, 1933 in Kingsport, Tennessee, to the late Silas T. Long and Verna Mae Corvin Long who raised him and his older brother, Phil Long, in Bristol, Virginia.
He married Mary Jane Baker Long August 19, 1953 and they were happily married for 66 years.
Joe graduated from Virginia Tech in 1956 with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. He was Vice President of Virginia Tech’s class of 1956, President of The American Institute of Industrial Engineering, Member of The Corp of Cadets, and Secretary Treasurer of the German Club.
After graduation, Joe went to work with General Electric in its three-year manufacturing training program in Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
In 1957, he entered the U.S. Army as a Second Lieutenant. When Joe went to Basic Officers Military Training Camp, he was chosen by his fellow officers as the number one officer in a group of 94 members.
Joe and his wife Jane moved to Newton, NC in 1961 and began working with General Electric where they made transformers.
In 1964, Joe and several other men took a bold step and founded a new business called Stitch, Inc., which later became Regency Home Fashions employing over 500 employees.
In recognition of his professional success, Joe was inducted into Virginia Tech’s Industrial and System Engineering Department’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni. Additionally, as an alumnus, he continued to support his university as director of the German Club Alumni Foundation Board and was awarded as a Distinguished Donor in 1982. Joe and his wife also established the Virginia Tech Brian Long Baseball Scholarship in memory of their son.
A list of Joe’s involvement in his community is long and distinguished:
President of the Hickory, N.C. Family Guidance
President of the Western Piedmont Symphony
Received the Hickory N.C. Arts Council Volunteer Award
President of the Catawba County YMCA
Received the Service Award in 1995 from the YMCA
President of the Newton, N.C. Rotary Club
Received the “Service Above Self” from the Rotary Club
Served on the Catawba Valley Community College Board of Directors for 30 years
Served on the Lenoir-Rhyne College Business Council
Received the Lenoir-Rhyne College Business Leader of the Year
Received the Outstanding Citizenship Award from the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce
President of the Newton Depot
Served on the Board of Directors of the Newton-Conover Performance Place
Boy Scouts of America (earned the rank of Eagle Scout in his youth), President of the Piedmont Council Boy Scouts, awarded the Silver Beaver Award (its highest national honor)
Received the prestigious North Carolina Governor’s award, “The Order of the Long Leaf Pine,” which is an honor granted to individuals who have shown extraordinary service to the state.
Although Joe’s civic and career accomplishments are extensive and impressive, above all else Joe Long was a man of faith who expressed his faith by loving his wife, children, family, friends, and his neighbor as himself. The best way to describe Joe Long is simply a cheerful giver.
In addition to his parents, Joe was preceded in death by his two sons; Danny Joe Long Jr., who was born Dec. 14, 1969 and lived only one day, and Brian Jennings Long who was born January 28, 1974 and died at the age of 14 on May 24, 1988.
In memory of Brian’s sudden death in 1988, Joe and Jane established The Brian Long Foundation. The purpose of the Foundation was to provide groups and individuals with financial assistance that foster and enrich the spiritual, educational, physical, and leadership growth for young people in their community. This Foundation allowed Joe and Jane Long to turn their deepest tragedy into a rich blessing for many.
Survivors include his loving and devoted wife of 66 years, Jane Long; and his two daughters and their husbands, Monica and Eric Phillips and Gwen and Tony Jarrett; seven grandchildren, Kirby Phillips, Baker Phillips, Jett Phillips, Kirsten Jarrett, Jenn Jarrett Foster and husband, Matt, Adele Jarrett, and Seth Jarrett; brother, Phil Long and wife Nancy of Simpsonville, SC.
A Celebration of Life for the community will be held Friday, November 22, 2019 at 2 p.m. at Concordia Lutheran Church in Conover, with Rev. Dr. David Ludwig officiating. The family will receive friends at the church immediately following the service. On Saturday, November 23, 2019, a private funeral mass will be held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Newton at 11 a.m. for Joe’s fellow church members and immediate family with Father James Collins officiating. Burial will be private in Eastview Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the YMCA of Catawba Valley, 701 1st St NW, Hickory, NC 28601 and/or the Newton Depot Authority, P.O. Box 267, Newton, NC 28658.
