Joe Charles Shorter

Joe Charles Shorter Sr. passed away peacefully in his sleep on June 27th , 2023. He was the eldest son and proceeded in death by his parents, Robert Levi Shorter Sr. and Alethea Grey Woolard, and his youngest son Mark Adrian Shorter. Joe was born in Beaufort N.C. on Aug. 15th , 1937. His siblings were Robert L. Shorter Jr., Deborah K. Sterns.

His children, Michael R. Shorter (Rustica), Sherry Jo Sturgill (Doug), and Joseph Charles Shorter Jr. (Charyl) survive Joe. His grandchildren are Rachel Sturgill (Anthony Smithson), Valarie Shorter, Spencer Shorter, Sophie Shorter, Roos ten Klooster, Samuel Shorter, and Madeline Shorter.

Joe’s mother called him Joe Charles, his friends called him Joe, his children called him pop, and the grandchildren called him granddad Joe.

Joe’s parents were hard working people from the country and very involved with the church and Joe came to Christ at a an early age. As a child, Joe often spent the summers working on Farms. He enjoyed playing basketball in H.S. and was well liked and encouraged by his teachers to attend college. Joe was a smart man, an avid reader and was self-taught on many subjects. He valued education and encourage his children to pursue a higher education. After H.S. Joe enlisted in the Air Force and worked in communications. He was stationed overseas for 2 years and then he was stationed on a mountaintop in Tennessee. The local place to hang out was at Norris Dam Lake where Joe met a young woman named Norma Rose. Pop used to say, “She was the prettiest girl at the lake”. They were married there in Tennessee and had their first of four children in Tennessee.

Joe enjoyed spending time outdoors and would often take the children for a ride on The Skyline Drive or go camping in the mountains. I can still hear grandmother calling out to pop “Joe Charles, Joe Charles get the kids in here its dinner time. Joe always loved sports cars and even raced in local sports car rallies when he was younger and he liked to watch the Indy car races. Joe was a likable man that came across as genuine and people trusted him. Joe was a front-end manager at a grocery store and impressed the regional boss so much he wanted Joe to move to Florida and manage a store there. Joe
also worked as an auto salesperson at car dealerships and won many top awards. He had a way with customers and they trusted him, Joe probably worked the sales manager harder than he worked the customers and the customers could see that. Joe had close friends in the real-estate industry that wanted Joe to come and work for them because he was respected and impressive. He also worked with his brother Bobby in the roofing business for a while. Joe worked at many things, he was a generous man and he lived a modest life.

He loved his family, and his children are his story, they are his legacy. He made peace with his family and with God. Joe is loved and will be missed.