July 26, 1928 - March 30, 2023
Bobby Joe Anderson of Atlanta, Ga., age 94, died March 30, 2023. The Statesboro, Ga. native was born on July 26, 1928 to Arnold Bremen Anderson and Rubye Akins Anderson. After his father died when Joe was four, he was raised by his mother on a farm in Bulloch County. Upon graduating from Statesboro High School in 1945, Joe followed in the footsteps of his father to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Joe later took great pride in seeing his son and grandchildren become students at Tech. A four-year letterman in track, Joe was a member of the Tech track team that reigned as Southeastern Conference champion in 1949.
He was also a member of ANAK, the Ramblin’ Reck Club, and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Joe was commissioned in ROTC at Georgia Tech as an officer in the Corp of Engineers and remained in active reserve for 14 years. Joe’s love for and dedication to Georgia Tech continued throughout his life. He served as president of the Georgia Tech National Alumni Association board of trustees from 1988-1989, the year the Association received recognition as the best alumni association in the country. He was a member of the Georgia Tech Foundation from 1991 to 1999 and held honorary emeritus member status on the board. In 2003, he was awarded the Joseph Mayo Petit Alumni Distinguished Service Award.
After graduating from Tech in 1950 with a degree in Industrial Management, Joe was employed by Elliott Business Machine Company in Atlanta. Joe worked with Elliott for 13 years and was plant manager when he moved to Puritan/Churchill Chemical Company in 1963. Joe joined Puritan/Churchill as a sales representative and moved through the ranks over a 28-year career at the company. He became President in 1978 and retired as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman in 1990.
Joe was a longtime, devoted member of Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. Joining the church when he was a freshman in college, he and his beloved Lou raised a family in the church. Joe served many years as a deacon, as a member of several pastoral search committees, as Chairman of the Board of Deacons and as a Sunday School teacher—even into his early 90s. Joe was a lifelong, or “Ole Timer” member, of the Atlanta Downtown Rotary Club and a member of Cherokee Town and Country Club.
After retirement in 1990, Joe enjoyed alumni work with Georgia Tech, attending Tech football and basketball games, travel, golf with a great group of friends, service at his church, managing and developing his boyhood farm, and time with his family. Joe did not miss a Tech-Georgia football game for seventy-six consecutive years. Hallmarks of Joe’s life were his talent for knowing and remembering people everywhere he went, his storytelling, his ability to sell most anything, and his lifelong service and allegiance to the organizations he loved.
Joe was preceded in death, in addition to his parents, by his wife of 50 years, Louise Stanley Anderson and his brother Arnold B. Anderson. He is survived by his four children, Stanley E. Anderson of Atlanta, Susan Anderson Still (Phil) of Dunwoody, Ga., Virginia Anderson Mosis (Dirk) of Boerne, Texas, Nancy Anderson Downs (Bryan) of Decatur, Ga., nine wonderful grandchildren, two great grandchildren and many beloved nieces and nephews.
A graveside service will be held at the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church, Statesboro, Ga. on Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 1pm. A celebration of life memorial service will be held at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga. on Friday, May 19, 2023 at 2pm.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in Joe’s memory can be made to Second Ponce De Leon Baptist Church, 2715 Peachtree Rd. NE, Atlanta, Ga. 30305 or The Georgia Tech Foundation, 760 Spring St. NW, Suite 400, Atlanta, Ga. 30308.
Friends may sign the online register book at www.joineranderson.com
Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home & Crematory of Statesboro is in charge of arrangements.
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