Joseph "Joe" Hensley

Joseph "Joe" Edgar Hensley, 96, of Asheville, passed away Tuesday, December 31, 2013, at the John F. Keever Hospice Solace Center. Mr. Hensley was born in Madison Co., the youngest of 13 children of the late Dolph E. and Vessie Banks Hensley. He was also preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Florence Rice Hensley, and all 12 of his siblings. He was a truck driver with Pilot Freight Carriers for over 30 years, a member of Groce United Methodist Church and a member of Biltmore Masonic Lodge 446, Scottish Rite, York Rite AF AM and Oasis Shrine. He was also a member of the local Teamsters Union #61. He is survived by his daughters, Kathryn Hensley of Taylorsville, and Nancy Hensley of Asheville; six grandchildren, Rick, Randy, Rusty Angel, Jennifer Baier, Michelle Lykins and Danny Cronin; and six great-grandchildren, Kati and Victoria McKee, Kody Baier, Justin and Jacob Lykins, and Carter Cronin. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, January 3, 2014, in the chapel of Groce Funeral Home on Tunnel Road. Rev. Gerald Davis will officiate and Masonic rites will be performed by Jim Robinson and the Biltmore Masonic Lodge 446. The Lodge will open at 1:00 p.m. The family will receive friends from 12 to 2:00 p.m. prior to the service. Memorials may be made to the John F. Keever Hospice Solace Center, P.O. Box 25338, Asheville, NC, 28813 or to Shriner's Hospital for Children, 950 W. Feris St., Greenville, SC, 29605.