Joseph Cherry Grogan Sr. was born on this date in 1918, in Winston-Salem, to Irvin Washington and Eva Bell Cherry Grogan.
Joe was the fifth child in a family of eight children. His father was a contractor and built homes for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. He also built a home for his family on Cameron Avenue.
Joe attended Skyland School when he lived in the Cameron Avenue area. He attended Wiley Grammar School when it was new, shortly before his family moved to 2353 Elizabeth Avenue. He graduated from R. J. Reynolds High School, as did his brothers and sisters.
Joe worked for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in several departments in his 44-year employment. He spent most of his working years in the Purchasing Department, and retired in 1981 as Purchasing Agent. During this time he purchased the materials to build the Whitaker Park Manufacturing Complex and the Tobaccoville Manufacturing Complex.
He acquired his Real Estate Broker’s license, and he also purchased the land on which the Tobaccoville plant was built. After his retirement, Joe enjoyed dealing with his own real estate projects, working with his “land.”
He also had an opportunity to grow vegetables in his backyard, sharing his bountiful harvest with family and neighbors.
Joe had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to tell stories of growing up in Ardmore, when the neighborhood was young and still covered with trees and undeveloped. He and his brothers went hunting after school in their neighborhood. They played in the woods and the corn field that later became Miller Park.
He also talked a lot about his years of service in the Army Air Force during World War II. Joe was stationed in North Africa and Italy, and traveled to London during his service years. He worked in communications, placed in that branch because of his typing ability. He took typing classes at R. J. Reynolds High School.
Joe attended First Baptist Church as a child and young adult. When College Park Baptist Church was organized in 1949, he joined the church and attended it for the rest of his life. He served as a church trustee, a deacon, Sunday School superintendent, and worked on several building committees. His favorite area of service was to provide and prepare the Christmas Treats that were distributed to all the children and shut-ins in the church at Christmas.
Joe served on the board of directors for Tanglewood Park, the Winston-Salem Transit Authority, and the Bank of North Carolina. He was a committee chairman for the PGA Tournament at Tanglewood in 1974.
He was married to Angelia Mackie in 1945, and he passed away in 2011.
Happy Birthday, Daddy!
