Joseph Christy Rodri, Sr.

Joseph Christy Rodri, Sr. February 10, 1933 – December 15, 2015 Joseph Christy “Joe” Rodri, Sr., 82, of Wilson, ascended into Heaven on Tuesday, December 15, 2015, after a four year battle with prostate cancer. His memorial Mass will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Monday, the 21st at St. Therese Catholic Church, 700 Nash Street, Wilson. The family will receive friends immediately following the Mass in the gymnasium. A Rosary service will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday, the 20th, at Joyner’s Funeral Home, 4100 Raleigh Road Parkway, Wilson with the family receiving friends immediately following the service until 8 p.m., and other times at the home. Joe was born in Malvern, Pennsylvania to Elizabeth and Manol Rodri and was raised with a brother and three sisters in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. He was competitive in wrestling and a star football player at Downingtown High School. After graduation in 1952, he entered Perkiomen Prep School and then joined the US Army in 1953. Upon his discharge from the Army, he attended North Carolina State University on a football scholarship, playing for Head Coach Earle Edwards for four years. Joe starred on the 1957 ACC Championship team and played in the North-South All Star Senior Bowl in Florida. On December 14, 1957, he married the love of his life, JoAnne Gray. After graduation from NCSU in May 1959 he worked with his brother in the restaurant business in Pennsylvania. Upon returning to North Carolina in 1960, he was a teacher and the head football coach at Roanoke Rapids High School. He left his teaching and coaching career to enter sales with Alton Packaging (later acquired by Jefferson-Smurfit) in Wilson in 1967, and went on to become their Sales Manager in 1974. Upon his retirement in 1996, Joe started Rodri Packaging Company with his son, Christy. Joe was active and involved in his Wilson community until only recently when his heath would no longer permit such. He was an active alumni supporter for NC State University through the Wolfpack Club; he served as Fourth Degree District Deputy and Local Grand Knight, supporting LAMB, Share and Care with the Knights of Columbus; he served on the School Board and the Advisory Board for St. Therese Catholic Church, and was involved in building the current church; he was a member of the Elks Club, American Legion, Moose Lodge, and Wilson Country Club; and he coached various Wilson little league baseball teams. Joe was always the first in line to help others. He will be remembered as a man who was thoughtful and kind and who never met a stranger. He was one of the most broadly loved individuals in the community. He made everyone he met feel special and had a positive and fun-loving disposition. He will be missed dearly by many and thought of often. May he rest in peace. Joe is survived by his loving wife of fifty-eight years, JoAnne Rodri of the home; his daughter, Eileen Rodri Carter and husband, Dennis of Wilson; his son, Joseph Christy Rodri, Jr. and wife, Buffie of Raleigh; grandsons, Joseph Lee and Jason Matthew of Raleigh; sisters, Rose Wright and Peggy Madrigale both of Pennsylvania; sister-in-law, Margaret Rodri of Colorado; step-granddaughter, Erica Harper of Greenville; step-grandson, Dennis Carter, Jr. and wife, Amber of Lucama; great-grandson, Evan Harper; great-granddaughter, Charity, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Manol and Elizabeth Rodri; his sister, Helen, and his brother, Mannie. The family would like to express their gratitude to ComForCare and Hospice (3HC) for their support, love and care of Joe. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Therese Catholic Church, 700 Nash Street, Wilson, North Carolina 27893. Condolences may be directed to www.joyners.net.