CONWAY – Dr. Joseph Anderton Fleetwood, Jr. began his journey to Heaven on Tuesday, October 8, 2013 surrounded by his grandchildren and loved ones at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Anderton Fleetwood, Sr.; his loving wife of 61 years, Cornelia “Pat” Fleetwood; and a son, Douglas Lane Fleetwood.

Dr. Joe Fleetwood, who was known to many as “Dr. Joe”, was born on November 11, 1925. He attended Wake Forest University where he began his studies in Medicine and later graduated from Bowman-Gray University School of Medicine in 1947.  After graduating, he entered the Navy, was commissioned as a Lieutenant J.G. and was assigned to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD as a base Physician. One of his last tours in the service was a mission called “Operation Deep Freeze” where he served as a personal physician to Admiral Richard E. Byrd of the U.S.S. Glacier that was deployed to Antarctica.

After returning and following his honorable discharge from the Navy, Dr. Joe settled back in his hometown of Conway, North Carolina where he practiced Medicine with his father for a few years. After the passing of his father, he continued his medical practice to the community. He served the entire Roanoke Chowan area as a family physician for over 50 years of private medical practice. Dr. Fleetwood was “one of a kind” because, day and night, he was there for his community, making house calls, providing care every day of the week at his personal medical practice in Conway. During his career he delivered over 3,000 babies throughout Northampton County and the surrounding counties of Eastern North Carolina.

On January 27, 1951 Dr. J. A. Fleetwood, Jr. married the love of his life, Cornelia “Pat” Poindexter Fleetwood.  While helping their community, Dr. and Mrs. Fleetwood, Jr. began their lives together, raising four loving sons.

Left to cherish his memory are his sons, Joseph Anderton Fleetwood, III “Andy” and his wife, Jocelyn of Kitty Hawk; William Hatch Fleetwood “Billy” and Becky Buppert of Conway; and Charles Poindexter Fleetwood “Charlie” and wife, Denise of Conway; grandchildren, Stacy Fleetwood and Andrea Fleetwood of Tennessee, Zachary Fleetwood of Conway, Christian and Erica Fleetwood of Conway; Cody and Joshua Fleetwood of Conway; a special life-long friend of Dr. and Mrs. Fleetwood, Jr., Mrs. Charlie Deloatch of Murfreesboro; three loving caregivers, Helen Anthony, Yvonne Spivey, and Sylvia Stephenson; as well as a host of special friends and loved ones.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, October 12, 2013 in Conway Baptist Church with the Rev. Willie McLawhorn officiating. Burial with Navy Military Honors immediately followed in the Town of Conway Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Dr. Joseph Fleetwood Scholarship Fund, a component of the NC Community Foundation.

Bridgers Funeral Home, Inc. in Conway handled the arrangements.