By Staff
Mr. Joseph Peyton Tunstall, 91, of 104 Northwest Avenue, (North Shores), Washington, passed away at his home on October 8, 2008 after a brief illness.
He was the son of the late Phrocine Frisbee Tunstall of Belhaven, NC and Claude D. Tunstall of Greenville, NC. On August 10, 1943, he married Emily Bryan Squires, who preceded him in death. Surviving are his son, Dr. Joseph P. Tunstall, Jr. and wife Judy, and his daughter, Martha Gravely and husband Steve, all of Washington, NC; grandchildren, Joseph P. Tunstall, III, Esq. and wife Hilaria of Tarboro, NC, Jenny Tinklepaugh and husband Eugene of Rocky Mount, NC, Abbott Tunstall and wife Hillary of Greenville, NC, Chuck Gravely and fianc/ Tracy Reeves of Charlotte, NC, and Ross Gravely of Burlington, NC; and great-granddaughter Emily Bryan Tinklepaugh of Rocky Mount, NC. Beloved family include Libby Garris and husband A.J., and Bryan Ross and companion Gayle Clark, all of Washington, NC, Celia Batchelor and husband R.T. of Wilson, NC, and Hervey Ashe of Durham, NC.
Joe was born on February 10, 1917 in Greenville, NC. At an early age he moved to Belhaven where he attended public school. In school he played football, basketball and baseball. Joe enjoyed his childhood in Belhaven and life on the Pungo and Pamlico rivers. From the age of nine, he always held one or two jobs. When he was eleven years old, he built a rowboat and at fourteen he built a 16 foot sailboat. He stayed on the river whenever he had the opportunity. In 1935, he graduated from Belhaven High School. With the money he saved in high school, a scholarship and the jobs he held, he worked his way through UNC-Chapel Hill. He was a charter member and president of the student branch of the NC Pharmaceutical Association and a member of the Phi Delta Chi Fraternity. At graduation, he received the Buxton Williams medal for campus citizenship and scholarship.
In 1939, Joe graduated from the school of Pharmacy at UNC-Chapel Hill. He returned home to Belhaven to work at O’Neal’s Drug Store, where he worked in high school. From there, he moved to Washington and began his fifty-two years career with Tayloe Drug Company.
In the field of pharmacy, he was a Charter Member and officer in the North Carolina Northeast Pharmacy Club. He was inducted in the prestigious North Carolina Academy of Pharmacy and served on the NC Pharmacy Foundation Board for needy students. He was elected to the statewide Executive Board of the NC Pharmacy Association. Joe was inducted into the Fifty Year Club of the Pharmacy Association and was elected to serve as permanent Secretary-Treasurer of the class of 1939.
Joe loved and supported Washington and Beaufort County and devoted much time giving to it. He was on the committee that visited Florida prior to PCS Phosphate locating in Aurora. He was on the fundraising committee that made it possible to have ferry transportation to the phosphate plant.
Joe was a charter member and Vice-President of the Washington Jaycees, Vice-President on the Washington Chamber of Commerce Board, an officer in the Washington Merchants Association, a member of the Local Housing Authority Board, a member of the United Way Board, the American Cancer Board, the American Heart Association Board and served many years on the Beaufort County Board of Health and the Salvation Army Board of Advisors. He was appointed several times to the First United Methodist church Board and was elected to two terms as Chairman. He served on the Beaufort County Community College Foundation Board. He served on the steering committee for county water, and served as Beaufort County Representative on the Five County Council on Aging. He was a member of the Friends of Brown Library, Pamlico Tar River Foundation, the Beaufort County Arts Council, Bath Historical Association and Washington Yacht and Country Club. Joe was a Red Cross driver for cancer patients. He served as a Sergeant in the North Carolina State Guard during WWII.
He enjoyed genealogy and was a member of the John and Betty More Association, established in 1890, and the Frisbee Family Association. He was a member of the Ramblers Supper Club and a charter member of the Monday Night Poker Club for over 40 years.
A funeral service will be on Friday, October 10, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church on West 2nd Street, with the Rev. Danny Allen officiating. Interment will follow at Oakdale Cemetery. Pallbearers are Joseph Tunstall, III, Abbott Tunstall, Chuck Gravely, Ross Gravely, Eugene Tinklepaugh, and Bryan Ross. Serving as honorary pallbearers are A.J. Garris, Frank Johnston, Dr. Fred Howdy, Shields Harvey, Mack Jones, Dr. McRay Jones, Mayhew Cox, Danny McNeil, Ryland Tankard, Mike Calfee, Harold Lane, Jesse Smith, Ward Gross, Hal Woolard, and the employees of Tayloe’s Hospital Pharmacy.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, October 9, 2008 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Hillside Funeral Service, 4500 Highway 264 East in Washington. The family will receive visitors at other times at the home.
You may share a memory with the family by visiting www.hillsidefuneralservice.com
Hillside Funeral Service of Washington is serving the Tunstall family.
Paid Obituary