March 23, 1948 - August 10, 2015

      Joe died on August 10, 2015, at age 67 in Winston-Salem, NC, where he lived.  He was born in Asheville, NC, to James and Carolyn Kilpatrick, and graduated from Davidson College in 1970. He was a second lieutenant in the Army and honorably discharged in 1972. He graduated from UNC-CH Law School in 1975 and clerked on the Court of Appeals before joining the law firm of Smith, Anderson, Blount & Mitchell in Raleigh. He later practiced with the Weinstein, Sturgess, Odom, Bigger and Campbell law firm in Charlotte, NC.       

      Joseph was the Assistant Director of the Z Smith Reynolds Foundation from 1980 until 2000, then did consulting and volunteer work. He was committed to enriching NC's culture and legacy in the areas of education, environment, criminal justice reform, community development and campaign finance reform. His wife, Penelope Clark Kilpatrick, daughters Megan Kilpatrick Moen and Jennifer Jamieson, three granddaughters, his sister Lynn Kilpatrick Bradshaw, and two nephews survived him.

      Lee Lichtenwalter and Joe Roller also found and forwarded this August 12, 2015, [edited] tribute to Joe from Todd Miller, Executive Director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation: 

      “I met Joe Kilpatrick in 1983.  He provided a warm, friendly greeting, and gave me strong encouragement as the fledgling North Carolina Coastal Federation was just getting its footing. Thus began a friendship that lasted more than three decades. Joe helped the Federation both as a foundation staff member and later as a private citizen—including eventually serving as a Federation board member.

      The many ways Joe helped the Federation succeed are too numerous to detail. He helped fashion proposals that obtained essential operating support from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation starting in 1983. His guidance eventually resulted in long-term and consistent financial support from that foundation that continues today. He helped the Federation staff with strategic planning, coordinated our work with other environmental organizations, and as a board member set up and participated in raising significant donations for our capital campaigns.

      Joe was always willing to go the extra mile working behind the scenes to help with our work. He was an essential member of our team and is responsible for many of our accomplishments.

      Joe spent some nice times with us at the coast and made a special effort to attend workshops, field trips, board meetings and public outreach events. He formed fond lasting memories from those visits especially when they included his family, and later, those positive memories gave him extra strength to tackle his own challenges. He was a wonderfully talented, caring and creative person.  Joe made the coast and the State of North Carolina a much better place as a result of his life’s work. He is profoundly missed but will never be forgotten.”