Joseph Walter Pyle

Joseph Walter Pyle
December 8, 1938 - January 4, 2026
Born to Mary Regan Pyle Kirkpatrick and Elisha Walter Pyle on December 8, 1938, Joseph Walter Pyle was a kind and humorous husband, father and happy servant of God. Growing up in South Atlanta, Georgia, he had a paper route, played piano & trumpet and played baseball. While a student at Georgia Tech, Joe had a blind date with an Agnes Scott College student, Anna Belle Freeman. After a couple of years, corresponding long distance while Joe was in the Air Force, they were married August 24, 1964 at North Avenue Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA. Their family started with Karen being born in Vallejo, Ca while Joe served in the Air Force as a jet engine mechanic. They returned to Atlanta where Joe finished college at Georgia State University while working. Being a faithful believer in Christ, Joe started teaching youth Sunday school when he was in high school. This started his path as a volunteer extraordinaire with youth groups and mission trips and a very active membership with Kingswood United Methodist Church in Dunwoody, Georgia. After their son Walter was born, he continued with his mission trips and youth work as well as being involved with the kids' sports. He was an avid and successful tennis player, working on cars and puttering around the house. Joe continued playing trumpet on the side playing trumpet up until a month of his passing. His days of baseball were reinvented as he joined senior league baseball teams traveling with Anna Belle to play in South Dakota, Arizona, Florida and elsewhere. He played baseball until he was 80 years old, pitcher and 3rd base. Traveling to see his children and grandchildren in his later years was also in the books. At home in Dunwoody, Georgia, Joseph Walter Pyle passed peacefully to heaven on January 4, 2026 after a tough battle with pulmonary fibrosis.
Joe is survived by his wife of 61 years, Anna Belle Freeman Pyle. Brother, Jonathan Kirkpatrick of McDonough, GA. Daughter, Karen Pyle Pearce, her husband Les Pearce, of Austin, TX; and son Walter Freeman Pyle, his wife Gwen Gannaway Pyle of Pflugerville, TX; and grandchildren Joseph Pearce, his wife Tammy Pearce, James Pearce, Alina Pearce, Anna Pearce, Taryn Pyle, Elijah Pyle and Reagan Pyle. We will see his sly smile and hear his punny puns when we remember him with love. Heaven gained a wonderful trumpet player and we are certain he is managing a new baseball team.
Memorial service will be held at Kingswood United Methodist Church, Dunwoody, GA on Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 11:00 am.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in his memory to either Kingswood United Methodist Church Youth Ministry or Honduras Outreach International.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.crowellbrothers.com. Arrangements by Crowell Brothers Peachtree Chapel Funeral Home, 5051 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Norcross/Peachtree Corners, GA 30092. (770)448-5757.