Joe Neill Sipe

Joe Neill Sipe, beloved father and Papaw, began his eternal rest on December 21, 2014 after a brief period of declining health surrounded by his children at Hospice-Robinson Road. The eldest son of Nannie Elizabeth Hahn Sipe and Luther Earl Sipe, Joe was born June 16, 1928 in Catawba County. Joe was baptized and confirmed at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church-Conover where he was a lifelong member. He met the love of his life, Dorothy Rose Eckard, while attending St. Stephens High School, and they married June 26, 1948. Joe and Dot built their family on the firm foundation of Christ for sixty-five years and faithfully attended Mt. Zion Lutheran Church-Conover with their three children where Joe served as assistant scout master of Boy Scout Troop #235, youth leader, church deacon, treasurer, building committee member, and assisted in various building projects at the church.

Over the years, Joe co-owned J and N Masonry with his brother, Ned Eugene Sipe, and bricked many homes, schools, and businesses all over North Carolina. In the evenings, Joe welded anything anyone brought to him at his Springs Road Home over the years including racing wheels, trailers, tractors, and tools for the masonry business. Joe’s inventions and custom work included truck covers, patio sets, metal swings, Christmas stars, a Christmas sleigh, and his hydraulic wood splitter that the family still uses today. Even in retirement, Joe enjoyed impromptu visits from people who would stop by to see if he could fix whatever they had in the back of their vehicle that was broken and needed to be repaired.

In his spare time, Joe enjoyed Chevrolet Corvair restoration and was a member of Foothills Corvair Club and Corsa NC. Joe attended car shows frequently in one of his Corvairs including his red and white custom 1961 Corvair truck that he designed.

Joe lived the words of Psalm 146:5, “Happy is the man who trusts the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord his God” with a smile on his face, a kind word to all he met, and a ready, helping hand to serve others in any way he could.

Joe's love for creating things is evident not only in his work but certainly in the three generations of Christ followers that he (with Dot) built as his legacy. Left to cherish Joe’s memory and to live selflessly and kindly as he did are his younger brother, Ned Eugene Sipe of Conover (Marolyn), Joe’s children and their spouses: Neill Eckard Sipe (Laura) of Claremont, Joel Duane Sipe (Debbie) of Hickory, and Scottie Sue Sipe Smith (Dale) of Newton; grandchildren, Kevin Neill Sipe (Erin) of Hickory, Jason Duane Sipe of Hickory, Brian Joseph Sipe (Jessica) of Moore, S.C., Marie Sipe McDaniel (Cameron) of Lewisville, Brenton Dale Smith of Winston-Salem, and Nicholas Landon Sipe of Hickory; nine great-grandchildren, Tyler, Kara, Anna, Keegan, Jeremiah, Tatum, Eli, Sarah Frances, and Abby; and numerous beloved nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to thank the staffs of Conover Rehab, Catawba Valley Living at Rock Barn, and Catawba County Hospice that served him lovingly the past few weeks. The funeral service will be held today, Tuesday, December 23, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in Conover. The Rev. Scott Bollinger will officiate. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends prior to the service, from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. Serving as pallbearers will be Cameron McDaniel, Kevin Sipe, Jason Sipe, Brian Sipe, Brenton Smith and Nicholas Sipe.