Dr. Joseph L. Emery died peacefully in his home, his beloved Eagle’s Nest in Tryon, North Carolina on May 11, 2016.

Dr. Emery was born in Waco, Texas, on June 5, 1925, the third of four sons of Day DeHart and Eunice L. Emery. The family moved to Temple, Texas, in 1932. Dr. Emery attended Temple (Texas) Junior College for one year, where he was president of his Freshman Class and assisted in the organization of the Ex-Students Association and served as its first president. He transferred to Baylor University in Waco and graduated in 1946. He was a member of Sigma Tau Delta and Pi Gamma Mu, honorary English and Social Science Fraternities. He was elected Permanent Secretary of his graduating Class.

He preached his first sermon at age 17 and was ordained to the Gospel Ministry the following year, December 19, 1943, by the First Baptist Church in Temple, Texas. He began serving his first church as pastor the same year. He continued to serve as pastor throughout his college and seminary years, graduating from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, in 1950. He received two additional degrees from Pioneer Theological Seminary and completed post-doctoral studies at Columbia University in New York.

After serving four churches in Texas – Heidenheimer, Goldthwaite, Ballinger and Houston – he was called as Senior Minister of the significant First Baptist Church in Saint Albans, West Virginia. Later he became Pastor of the historic Rutledge Avenue Baptist Church in Charleston, South Carolina, from which he retired in 1984.

While in Charleston he served as President of the Rotary Club and was elected a Paul Harris Fellow. He attended two Rotary International Conventions – in Rome and Chicago. His fund-raising addresses to South and North Carolina Rotary Clubs resulted in sufficient funds to inoculate more than 250,000 children world-wide in Rotary’s Polio Plus Crusade.

Also in Charleston, he was Chaplain of the Charleston Fire Department, board member of the Charleston Symphony, a Pastor Advisor to the Baptist College at Charleston, and Board Chairman of Carolina Youth Services, successor to the Charleston Orphan Home — the oldest child caring institution in the United States.

Along with partner William J.Detyens, a Charleston ship builder, Dr. Emery founded Mount Pleasant Memorial Gardens, a perpetual care cemetery in Mount Pleasant. He served as its first Vice-President and General Manager. He also served as President and Executive Director of the South Carolina Cemetery Association, and he was a member of the Board of the Southern Cemetery Association composed of members in 13 states. He was elected South Carolina’s Cemeterian of the Year in 1970.

Retiring in 1984 to their summer house in Lake Lure, N.C., he and his partner Steve McKinsey owned and operated for six years The Old Mill Inn, a B & B in Bat Cave. In 1990, they moved to Tryon and established McKinsey Printing.

In Tryon Dr. Emery served as a board member and Volunteer Chaplain of Hospice of the Carolina Foothills. He also served as Volunteer Chaplain of St. Luke’s Hospital for twelve years and as a board member for six years, two and a half of those years as Chairman of the Board. He served as a Board Member and secretary of the Rotary Clubs of Tryon and Hendersonville, NC. He has also served on the Boards of Habitat for Humanity and the American Heart Association.

Dr. Emery was elected to the Second Wind Hall of Fame in 1995 and served as its President on two occasions. In 1996 Governor Jim Hunt of North Carolina named him as one of the state’s Volunteers of the Year.

A member of Tryon First Baptist Church, he is a long-time Friend Member of Tryon Congregational Church where he served as Official Visitor. Over the years he was much in demand as a speaker for church groups, civic clubs and conventions.

Dr. Emery is pre-deceased by his beloved parents, Day and Eunice, and by his three brothers, Day, Jr., Raymond, and Paul. He is survived by 10 nieces and nephews in in Texas and Florida. He is also survived by his partner of almost 40 years, Steve McKinsey, and his constant canine companion, Abby.

A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. on Monday, May 16, 2016 at The Congregational Church in Tryon with Dr. Robert Barrows and Dr. Jeff Harris officiating.  A memorial service will be held at a later date at Stuhr’s Funeral Chapel at Mount Pleasant Memorial Gardens in Charleston, S.C. Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Tryon Congregational Church, 210 Melrose Avenue, Tryon, NC 28782, Tryon First Baptist Church, PO Box 1287, Tryon, NC, 28782, Tryon Fine Arts Center Capital Campaign, 34 Melrose Ave., Tryon, NC 28782 and Hospice of the Carolina Foothills, 130 Forest Glen Drive, Columbus, NC 28722.

As a final reminder to those he has served and loved, Dr. Emery encourages all to “REMEMBER. REFLECT. REJOICE.”

An online guest register is available at www.mcfarlandfuneralchapel.com.

McFarland Funeral Chapel
Tryon, N.C.