He was a 1968 Graduate of Millbrook High School in Raleigh, where he was an All-Conference football player, and a 1973 graduate of Elon University, where he was a founding father of the Kappa Sigma Lambda-Lambda Chapter.
In 1984, Joe founded Hi-Tech Fabrication with the late Fred Flowers. The company grew quickly and went on to enjoy a 33-year run of success prior to its closing in July, 2017 upon Joe’s retirement.
Joe was a proud and passionate supporter of North Carolina State University. Through his involvement in the Wolfpack Club, he donated generously to the school, funding scholarships and other school activities and facilities, and worked constantly to improve the university. His love for the Wolfpack led him to travel frequently with the school’s football, basketball, and baseball teams.
Joe was blessed with many, many friends, and his friends were even more blessed to have known him. He was universally known for his tremendous sense of humor, his boundless warmth and generosity, and his unwavering kindness and compassion. People will remember his laughter and his gigantic heart. He was one of a kind and those who knew him will never forget him.
Joe was preceded in death by his father, Joseph Worth Barbee Sr., his mother, Willie Lou Goldman, and his stepfather, John William Goldman.
He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Dawn Blackley Barbee; their daughter, Amanda Barbee Sen and son-in-law Vivek; his sister Cathy Best and her husband Phil; his brother John Eric Goldman; and his father in law Bruce Blackley.
He also dearly loved his Yorkshire Terriers, Baxter and Halley, who he considered his other children. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to the North Carolina State Veterinary School, which Joe credited with saving his dogs’ lives.
Joe is also survived by numerous brothers and sisters in law, nieces and nephews, and countless friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine by mailing a check to:
NCVMF
1060 William Moore Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27607
Or make a gift online at: go.ncsu.edu/give-to-cvm
Please indicate your gift is in honor of Joseph Barbee both online and via check.
Funeral services will be Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at 4:00 PM at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 1701 E. Millbrook Rd., Raleigh NC 27609. His family will receive friends following the service at the funeral home. Interment will be Wednesday at Gethsemane Memorial Park in Morehead City at 1:00 PM.
