He was born October 8, l941, in Hamburg, Germany and lived there until l953, at which time he came with his mother to Raleigh, North Carolina. His mother had married Heinz Solomon, the proprietor of the Hofbrau, a German restaurant located in Cameron Village.
During his growing up years he went to Ravenscroft, then to Daniels Middle school, and graduated from Broughton High School. After graduating from Broughton he moved to Durham to attend Durham Tech and studied drafting, which he did during all his working career. He started out with Ezra Meier and then worked with Bigger and Agnew. He retired from Design Services in Wendell.
In the meantime he got married and had four children: Darlene, Trenessa, Carl and Michael. He is also survived by many grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Surviving him now is his wife Roswitha (Rose) Dammann, whom he met when they were both teenagers. Rose came to Raleigh from Germany in 1959, at which time they met for the first time. After many years in between and two different lives, they met again in l991 and were married in l995. This marriage lasted until his death.
Joe had a very fulfilling life with many friends and his large family.
A service of Remembrance will be celebrated November 3, 2026, at McLaurin Funeral Home. Visitation will begin at 1:00 p.m. with the service being at 2:00 p.m., followed by the burial at Pinecrest Memorial Park.
