Joseph Pridgen Martin

(DURHAM) – Joseph Pridgen Martin, age 83, died at Duke University Hospital on August 28, 2024. He was born on December 20, 1940 to the late Mary Pridgen Martin and Chester Barton Martin, Sr.

Joe graduated from Durham High School in 1959, and enrolled in Davidson College, from which he graduated in 1963. He served in the US Army as a Commissioned Officer in the Signal Corps from 1963-1965, and then returned to Durham, holding a number of positions before eventually landing at the Triangle Universities Computation Center (TUCC) in 1970. After TUCC closed in 1990, Joe began work as the Business Manager at Triangle Systems, where he was still employed at the time of his death, a fact which he enjoyed sharing, mostly for the reactions it garnered. His coworkers at Triangle Systems became a second family to Joe over the 30+ years they worked together. 

In addition to his work, Joe was, for many years, a devoted caregiver to his mother, who lived to age 99. He enjoyed learning about and restoring antique pianos. He also took great interest in international exchange, perhaps inspired by former coworkers and friends in the emerging Research Triangle area, and later as a volunteer with the Duke University International House, where he helped welcome international graduate students to Duke and served as a local contact, occasional dinner companion and language partner to many over the years.

One of his closest international friends was Florian Henke, the son of former colleagues from TUCC, who pursued a PhD at Duke. Joe considered Florian as family, traveling to Germany to attend his wedding to his wife, Tina, and watching with delight as their daughter, Lea, grew up. Together with Florian, Joe traveled often over the years, across the US and to Europe.

Joe was a long-term member of Hope Valley Country Club until he moved to The Forest at Duke. He was involved with many students being helped by The Fund for Human Possibility, which supports at-risk students in pursuing college degrees and advanced training. He was a generous donor to causes of the underserved, from animal rescue charities to the local food bank. He made friends wherever he went, from the grocery store to the Hope Valley Diner.

While many may not think of Joe as a very social person, he was still in regular communication with many of his lifelong friends, from Durham, Davidson College, and his extended communities, and he was exceptional at keeping in touch to celebrate birthdays and holidays, and simply to say hello or share some news about mutual friends. He will also be dearly missed by the birds at The Forest, whom he fed regularly, so that he might watch them flit around the feeders from his home office.

Joe is survived by his sisters, Mary Martin Green and Margaret Martin Conley, as well as 14 nieces and nephews, and many great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Chester B. Martin, Jr. and John C. Martin, a sister, Eleanor Martin Fisher, and a niece, Katherine Fisher.

A celebration of Joe's life will be held on Saturday, September 21st, at 11am, in the Hall-Wynne Chapel in Durham, 1113 W. Main Street, Durham, NC, 27701.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Animal Protection Society of Durham https://www.apsofdurham.org/donate-to-the-annual-fund/.

The Martin family is under the care of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service.

Online condolences: www.hallwynne.com – select obituaries.