Joseph E. Marcy

Joseph E. Marcy died at home in Blacksburg, VA on Monday, August 26. He was 72 years old. Joe was born in 1952 in Bristol, VA, and raised on the other side of the state line in Tennessee. He graduated from Sullivan Central High School in 1970 and matriculated to the University of Tennessee, where he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. While working at the Land of Oz in Beech Mountain, NC in the summer of 1970, he met the love of his life and made the best decision he ever made, marrying Marjorie Leslie Bullock in 1973. After completing his master’s degree, he and Marjorie moved to Raleigh and he pursued his PhD at North Carolina State University, which he completed in 1980. Joe worked for the University of Florida and for Rampart Packaging before moving to Blacksburg in 1988 to work as a professor of food science and technology at Virginia Tech. He was the interim department head of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise from 2006 to 2008 and head of the Food Science and Technology department from 2008 until 2020. He has been recognized by several honor societies, including the Sigma Xi Scientific Honor Society, the Alpha Zeta Honorary Fraternity, and the Gamma Sigma Delta Agricultural Honor Society, as well as the Riester-Davis Lifetime Achievement in Food Packaging Award from the Institute of Food Technology and the Chairman’s Award from the Research and Development Associates for Military Food and Packaging. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists. He was also awarded the Human Research Mission Badge for his years of contributions to the NASA Habitat Working Group. Closer to his heart, he was awarded the Virginia Tech International Faculty Development Award, an Outstanding Faculty award from Virginia Tech, and a Certificate of Teaching Excellence through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Even through his time as department head, he most enjoyed his work teaching and mentoring others, passing on his passion and curiosity for food, food science, and life in general to all with whom he worked. Joe was just as passionate about music. He enjoyed singing in the choir at Blacksburg United Methodist Church for many years, and relished his time in the glee club at the University of Tennessee, where he swears they introduced “Rocky Top” to the university. He was a dedicated band parent, chaperone of many a youth trip with Blacksburg UMC, and for many years a leader and mentor, along with Marjorie, of the Families with Young Children class. Joe is predeceased by his parents Charles and Helen Marcy, stepmother Betty Owen Marcy, sister Carolyn Marcy Carrier, and parents-in-law Russell and Marjorie Bullock. Joe is survived by his wife of 51 years, Marjorie Bullock Marcy, his son, Jeremy (Katrina) of Batavia, OH, daughter Joanna (Jake Paysour) of Roanoke, and five grandchildren, Noah, Savannah, and Zachary Marcy, and Joseph James and Julian Paysour, his twin brother John (Pat) of Gray, TN, and brother in law Michael Carrier of Topsail Beach, NC, and his nephews Chad Carrier, Matt Carrier (Mackenzie), and Nathan Marcy, and great-nephews Davis and Beckett Carrier as well as many beloved family and friends. A graveside service will be held at Johnson Grove in Vass, NC at 3pm on September 4, 2024. A celebration of life will be held at Blacksburg United Methodist Church on September 28 at 2:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Blacksburg United Methodist Church (give here https://www.blacksburgumc.org/give ) or to the Virginia Tech Food Science and Technology Scholarship Fund give here FST Give.

Joseph E. Marcy

August 26, 1952 - August 26, 2024