Joe Donald Goodpasture, 82, died on June 13, 2020 in Greensboro, NC.
Goodpasture was the son of Malcolm Repass Goodpasture and Myrtle Swiney Goodpasture of Bristol, TN. He grew up in Johnson City and Bristol, TN and graduated from Bristol Tennessee High School and East Tennessee State University.
Goodpasture enjoyed a long and distinguished career in broadcasting, beginning as a disc jockey before moving into journalism and becoming news director for stations in Roanoke, VA and Raleigh, NC, where he earned several major journalism awards. He later became a Public Information Officer for the North Carolina Department of Education and an executive with the Raleigh, NC Chamber of Commerce. In 1977, he started his own communications firm in Charlotte, NC, specializing in the production of trade association and company publications. He and his wife, Ann, also published CITI magazine, a popular homes and gardens lifestyle publication in Charlotte for several years. He later formed a company that researched, wrote and published the histories of companies and other organizations.
In semi-retirement, Goodpasture became a writer for a firm that publishes commemorative and historical books throughout the nation. He was involved in the publication of more than 40 of these books and was still writing daily at the time of his death as one of the original contributors to an online newspaper in North Carolina.
Goodpasture was a member of the Lions Club for more than 30 years, serving as President of the Charlotte, NC and Abingdon, VA clubs. He was also a member of the Abingdon, VA Kiwanis Club. He was a member of the citizens committee responsible for returning vintage streetcars to the streets of Charlotte. In politics, Goodpasture considered himself one of the last of the radical moderates. In religion, he considered himself a seeker who found answers to thorny theological questions as a member of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Asheville, where he lived for several years.
Goodpasture was descended from several of the early pioneer families of Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee and was an expert on his family genealogy. He shared his research and vast family knowledge with cousins throughout the nation. He also enjoyed researching local history and for several years wrote a popular monthly column on Charlotte/Mecklenburg history for Charlotte Magazine and history vignettes for websites devoted to Bristol history.
Goodpasture is survived by his wife of 61 years, Ann McIver Goodpasture, Greensboro, NC; a son, John Goodpasture of Greensboro, NC and his wife Kate; three granddaughters; Hope Goodpasture of Greensboro, NC; Zoe Goodpasture, Asheville, NC; and Hannah Goodpasture, Asheville, NC; two great- grandchildren, Paislee and Kaden; a sister, Patsy Goodpasture Musick of Winchester, VA.; brother-in-law Luther Bussey of Abingdon, VA and a number of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a sister, Janice Goodpasture Bussey, of Abingdon, VA.
A celebration of Goodpasture’s life will be held on Saturday, July 25th from 2pm-3pm at Frost Funeral Home located at 250 E Main St in Abingdon, VA.