Joel Gregg Hunnicutt

Following a courageous battle with colon cancer beginning in early 2025, Joel Gregg Hunnicutt passed away on September 3, 2026 at the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home. Joel was born on April 5, 1958 to Ben Cody and Colleen Moxley Hunnicutt in Winston-Salem. He grew up in Winston-Salem, living next door to special neighbors, the Sinclairs. He was educated by the Forsyth County public school system and graduated from Parkland High School in 1976. After graduation, he enrolled at his father’s alma mater, Appalachian State University, where he majored in Political Science and Communications.

At Appalachian State, Joel became involved in Student Government and served as Vice President and Presiding Officer of the Student Senate. Growing up in a family that enjoyed lively discussions regarding politics and current affairs, he honed his skills in debating and enjoyed that throughout his life. He grew up in a Democratic household and Joel became quickly involved in the local political scene, forming a lifelong allegiance. After Appalachian, he continued his interest in Democratic politics, working full time for the 1984 Democratic Party ticket of Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro. This work involved travel all across North Carolina. While this was the last campaign on which Joel worked full time, he always remained interested in political issues at the local, state and national level, supporting many candidates.

In 1990, Joel joined the United States Army, where he became airborne qualified. Joel was stationed in bases located in South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Baumholder, Germany. Sergeant Hunnicutt served as a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare Decontamination Specialist receiving the Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal two times. Toward the end of his service, Sergeant Hunnicutt returned to North Carolina to serve at Fort Bragg and was deployed to Haiti in 1994 as part of Operation Uphold Democracy prior to his honorable discharge in 1995.

Following the completion of his Army service, Joel took up a career in the private sector. An avid reader and lifelong learner, he taught himself to become a computer programmer in the early years of programming. From 1995 until his retirement in 2024, he worked in information technology positions, working for Sara Lee, Amarr, Collins Aerospace, and ServiceNow.

Joel’s role as Enterprise Database Administrator for Amarr led him to meet the love of his life. Mary and Joel married in 2009 and lived in Winston-Salem with Mary’s son James Harner and their beloved dog, Charlie. Joel enjoyed auto mechanics and maintained his own cars including his very special Porsche Boxster. He also enjoyed woodworking and house projects along with gardening and landscaping, comedy, music, and movies of all kinds. Joel’s dry sense of humor kept his friends and family always quick to smile. He was a man of great compassion and a gifted storyteller. Joel actively participated in the life of several Christian faith communities including Augsburg Lutheran Church and Robinhood Road Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.

Joel is survived by his wife, Mary; son, James Harner (Payton) of Kannapolis; sister, Lynn Longest (Ryke) of Raleigh; nephew, Patrick (Susannah) of Raleigh; father in law Harold Royall of Winston-Salem; sister in law Amanda Allen (Josh); nephews, Tristan and Daniel, family members Ronnie Loftis (Cari) and Becky Wolf (Steve), as well as many special cousins and their families. He is also survived by his close lifelong friends, Jay Sinclair and Glenn Kiger.

A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, September 8 at 3:00 pm at Voglers at Forsyth Memorial Park, 3815 Yadkinville Rd., Winston-Salem. A reception will follow immediately after the service.

Contributions in his honor and memory may be made to:

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Use this link to honor Joel’s memory: https://action.aclu.org/give/tribute-aclu-nc

North American Butterfly Association (NABA) https://naba.org/support/wc-donation-support-naba/