Joe Byrd Sills, Jr.

Augusta, GA - Entered into rest on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, Mr. Joe Byrd Sills, Jr.

He was born to Joe Byrd Sills and Myra Evelyn Nichols Sills in Jackson, Mississippi on June 2, 1950. He was the eldest of five brothers Jack, John, Jim, and Jeffrey.

The brothers had an inseparable bond and enjoyed sports and the outdoors as a family. All five brothers were active in the Boy Scouts and Joe, or Jay as he was known to family and friends, achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. The Sills family moved to Stuttgart, Arkansas in 1962 and Joe was valedictorian of the class of 1968 at Stuttgart High School. He attended his parents Alma Mater in Jackson, Mississippi, Milsaps College, and transferred to the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1970. He graduated from Georgia Tech with honors earning a Bachelor of Science in the field of Chemistry in 1972.

Upon graduation, Joe began working for the Georgia Power Company in Smyrna and later at their corporate headquarters in Atlanta where he was involved in the planning for a new power plant along the Savannah River, south of Augusta. Joe met Jeanette Hamilton at The Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta while playing guitar in the folk choir. They were wed in the Church in 1974. Joe and Jeanette had two sons, Jason and Jacob, before moving their family to Augusta in 1984 to work at the Alvin Vogtle Electric Generating Plant. While employed at Plant Vogtle, Joe was also traveling back and forth to Atlanta and earning a masters degree in Nuclear Engineering from Georgia Tech which he completed in 1986.

After an amicable divorce, Joe lived alone at his home in Augusta. In 1999 he courted and was remarried to Priscilla Quagliano at Trinity on the Hill and was a devoted husband and step father to Priscilla's daughters Wendy and Tiffany. Among other travels, the couple loved to attend the Spoleto Festival in Charleston every spring.

Joe had a love for music and could play many classical pieces and jazz standards on the piano from memory. He was a master of both flat and fingerpicking techniques on the acoustic guitar and especially emulated the playing style of Chet Atkins. He also enjoyed listening to all genres of music and had an extensive record collection.

But Joe's passion for music was truly fulfilled at Trinity on the Hill, where his rich bass vocals were present in the Sanctuary Choir for forty years. He performed in many choral productions over the years and especially cherished Trinity's God and Country patriotic music series. His love of gospel and bluegrass music melded as he played the five string banjo, guitar, and sang alongside his good friends in the Trinity Bluegrass Gospel Band, who perform locally and minister to the elderly at area nursing homes.

After thirty-two years with Georgia Power, Joe became a water systems inspector for the State of Georgia Environmental Protection Division until his retirement. In retired life, Joe enjoyed his grandchildren, attending live music performances around Augusta, working as poll manager, walking and socializing with neighbors, and slow cooking on his Green Egg. Joe was a compassionate caregiver to his wife Priscilla during a brief illness in 2023.

Joe passed away unexpectedly at his home from a heart condition on February 28, 2024. His funeral service will be celebrated on Friday, March 8, at 11:00 AM at Trinity on the Hill GMC with the Reverend Scott Hearn presiding. His interment will be a private ceremony in a family plot in Manchester, Georgia.

Joe is preceded in death by his parents, Joe Byrd Sills, Sr. and Myra Evelyn Nichols Sills of Manchester, GA and his loving wife of twenty-five years, Priscilla.

Joe is survived by his beloved four brothers: Jack Sills (Maria) of Oak Ridge, TN; John Sills (Rebecca) of Durand, GA; James Sills (Nancy) of Pine Mountain Valley, GA; and Jeffrey Sills (Katherine) of Savannah, GA;

his legacy is continued by his two loyal sons: Jason Hamilton Sills (Christine) of Carbondale, Colorado and Jacob Robert Sills (Jody) of Summerville, South Carolina;

his former spouse, Jeanette Marie Sills of Pinopolis, South Carolina;

his four precious grandchildren: Hayden Faye Sills (11), Jace Robert Sills (8), Amelia Grace Sills (1), and Julie Jo Sills (6mo);

his two cherished step daughters and their families: Wendy, Rob, Katherine, and Will Harber of Peachtree City, GA and Tiffany and Eric Leiden of Evans, GA;

his treasured cousins: Bob, Tom, Joy, Gay and their mother Gloria Gladney of Jackson, Mississippi; Paul, Marian, Susan, and Sam Worley of Nashville, Tennessee; and Katie Sills Graziano and James Sills of Fort Walton Beach, Florida;

and his dear nieces and nephews: Joy and Leslie, Ruth and Joseph, Jenny, Laura Ann and Amanda, William, Daniel, and Elizabeth.

In lieu of flowers, Joe wished that any donations be made to the Trinity on the Hill Music Ministry. Contact Kevin Pollock, Director of Music and Worship at (706) 738-8822 or email kpollock@trinityonthehill.net