Thomas Eli Joyner Jr.

FARMVILLE - Mr. Thomas Eli Joyner Jr., 88, of Farmville died Saturday, April 2, 2005, at Pitt County Memorial Hospital. Mr. Joyner was born July 25, 1916, the son of the late Thomas Eli Joyner and Agnes Barrett Joyner. He was a lifelong resident of Farmville and graduated from Farmville High School. In 1937, he graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he served as the business manager of the Daily Tar Heel and was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. At the onset of World War II, Mr. Joyner enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he attained the rank of lieutenant. He received the Presidential Unit Citation and the Naval Unit Citation for serving aboard the destroyer USS John C. Butler in the Pacific battle of Leyte Gulf. Following the war, he returned to Farmville where he joined the family business as president of Farmville Furniture Co. and Farmville Funeral Home. Mr. Joyner was very active in the Farmville community, serving in numerous capacities including president of the Chamber of Commerce and the Farmville Economic Council, which he helped to found. He was very instrumental in the beautification efforts of the business district of Farmville and chaired the Mayor's committee on central business improvement. He also led the promotion of the first "Farmers Day" celebration. Mr. Joyner served terms as president and secretary of Farmville Rotary Club, of which he was a member since 1937. He also served on the Pitt County Board of Elections for 25 years. In 1977, he was recognized as the Farmville Man of the Year for his outstanding contributions to the Farmville community. In 1988, Mr. Joyner was named the Small Business Leader of the Year for Pitt County. Mr. Joyner was an active member of the Farmville United Methodist Church, where he was a former chairman of the administrative board and the finance committee. He was a former superintendent of the Sunday school and served on the building committee. Mr. Joyner was a former director of First Union National Bank in Farmville and a former director of the Southern Retail Furniture Association. In addition to his wife, Eleanor Matheson Joyner, Mr. Joyner is survived by three daughters, Ann Cross and her husband, Roane, of Winston-Salem, Lee Moore and her husband, Jimmy, of Lookout Mountain, Tenn., and Joy Poe and her husband, Ken, of Charlotte; six grandchildren, Rives Hotra and her husband, Mike, Wesley Moore, Eleanor Cross, Oliver Cross, Warren Poe and Thomas Poe; and a sister, Frances Monk of Farmville. In addition to his parents, Mr. Joyner was preceded in death by a sister, Verona Joyner Langford. Funeral services for Mr. Joyner will be conducted at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, at Farmville United Methodist Church with the Rev. David Harrington officiating. Interment will follow in Forest Hills Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 this evening, April 4, at Farmville Funeral Home. In addition to his grandsons, pallbearers will be Robert T. Monk Jr., Robert T. Monk III and Danny Turnage. Honorary pallbearers will be Carl Blackwood, B.S. Smith Jr., the Honorable John B. Lewis Jr., Scott Lang, James Hockaday, Dr. Bert Warren Sr., David Stowe, Randy Walters and members of the Rotary Club of Farmville. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Farmville United Methodist Church, 4588 W. Church St., Farmville, NC 27828-0153. Arrangements are in the care of Farmville Funeral Home.