Obituary
Joseph James Abney, 62, of Rougemont, North Carolina lost his battle to cancer on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
Joe was born on June 24th, 1961, in Phoenix, Arizona, to the late Noriko Nakamura Abney and the late Col. Floyd Abney. Joe’s childhood took him to Hahn AFB, Germany; Phoenix, Arizona; Tucson, Arizona; Montgomery, Alabama; and Poquoson, Virginia where he graduated from Poquoson High in 1979. He then headed to college and received a BS in Computer Science from East Carolina University in 1984.
Joe moved to Durham, North Carolina where he landed a position at DataFlow Companies as a programmer. He was considered the expert in Unix and AIX, often called upon by his colleagues to solve their most technical issues. Joe was recognized for several awards including Vertical Group Manager of the Year and Programmer of the Year. As a result of his achievements, he was promoted to Quality Assurance Manager.
Joe was employed with Thales, USA as a Senior Systems Software Development Specialist. In this position he maintained and administered computer networks and computing environments at (2) U.S. Department of Homeland Security data centers. In addition, he served as technical leader for a team of data center Senior Systems Administrators.
As much as Joe loved his work, he also loved to have fun. His passion was playing golf and did this as often as possible. He also played in pool and dart leagues with his friends. He went on white-water rafting trips with his friends at DataFlow and won a championship on the company’s softball team. He did a lot of hiking at the Eno River, Little River, North Carolina mountains, Arizona, Utah, Georgia, and California. Joe enjoyed life and was happy just sitting on the front porch listening to music.
Joe was preceded in death by his Mother Noriko Abney of Hampton, Virginia; Father Col. Floyd Abney of Scottsdale, Arizona; Stepmother Lois Abney and Stepbrother Karl Lentz of Temecula, California.
Surviving are Joe’s wife, Debra Collins Abney and brother, John Abney of Redwood City, California.
A graveside service will be at Bethany Baptist Cemetery at 245 Bethany Church Road, Rougemont, NC on Saturday December 2nd at 12:30 p.m. Immediately following (2:00 pm), please join the family for a Celebration of Joe’s Life at The Hillsborough Exchange Club at 331 Exchange Park Ln. Hillsborough, NC
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Joe’s name to the Eno River Association or SwingPals, Inc.