Joseph Granville Heflin

Joseph Granville Heflin, of Asheville, NC, passed away at the Blue Ridge Health and Rehabilitation Center in Hendersonville, NC, on June 13, 2018, at the age of 72. He was born in Norfolk, VA, on November 13, 1945, to Aubrey Newbill Heflin and Virginia Simmerman Heflin. Joe attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Richmond, VA, and in 1967 he graduated, with Phi Beta Kappa honors, from Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College). Subsequently he earned an M.A. in Applied Linguistics at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and also served as a Teaching Associate at UCLA.

His dedication to peace and justice is reflected in his employment history, which included: Counselor with the Neighborhood Youth Corps in Memphis, TN; Executive Director at the Quaker Center International in Paris, France; Probation Officer at the Inner London Probation and After-Care service, London, England; Research Analyst with Community Planners, Inc., Laredo, TX; ESL Teacher, Refugee Language School, San Antonio, TX; Staff, Rural Southern Voice for Peace, Celo Community, NC. 

Joseph is survived by his wife of thirteen years, Sonia Rincon Heflin, and their son, Luis Andres Heflin, both of Portland Oregon; stepsons Sergio Leon Scales and Thomas Arthur Scales; and his sister, Ellen H. Ramsey (George) of Davidson, NC. 

A memorial service will be held on July 5 at 10:30 a.m., in the Memorial Garden in Montreat, NC. Memorial gifts can be made to the Montreat Conference Center, Montreat, NC; the Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, AL; or a charity of the donor’s choosing.

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