Joseph Norman Guy III

Joseph Norman Guy III passed away after a brief illness on January 23, 2025, surrounded by family and love. Joe was born on September 25, 1938, in Montgomery, Alabama to Nancy Scott Guy and Joseph Norman Guy, Jr. Joe spent his childhood in Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama. He was educated at Stark Military Academy, Cloverdale Elementary and Junior High School, and Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery. Joe made lifelong friends from these schools and saw many of them in Montgomery in December 2024.

Joe graduated from his beloved Auburn University with a BS degree in Building Construction in 1961. While at Auburn he was a proud member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity which he supported for the remainder of his life. He met his wife, Betsy Wylie, at Auburn. After graduation, he and Betsy moved to Atlanta and enjoyed a wonderful life with their two children, Brindley Guy Johnson and Ross Wylie Guy. They enjoyed raising their family, traveling, attending Auburn football games, and spending time with friends. Joe lost Betsy to breast cancer in 2001 after 40 years of happy marriage.

In 1962, Joe joined what was then AR Winter Construction and worked there for two years before he was asked to lead Key Construction. In 1968, Joe formed Joe N. Guy Co., Inc., a construction company serving the Southeast for the past 57 years. His son Ross is a partner in the organization, and his grandson, Ross Johnson, has also recently joined the company to carry on the legacy. Joe N. Guy Co., Inc. has had and continues to have many exceptional projects including Publix grocery stores, churches, club houses, and most recently The Assembly Studios in Doraville. He was a great pioneer and role model for so many in the industry.

Joe and Betsy bought a home on Sea Island, Georgia in 1980. The home became the center point for many wonderful and fun-filled gatherings, always including July 4th, Georgia Florida Weekend, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Eve. Friends and family filled the home on these special occasions with a lot of love, fun, and frivolity throughout the years.

In 2008, Joe met his current wife, Mary Lee Wood Copeland, whom he married in 2017. They enjoyed traveling between Greensboro, North Carolina (her hometown, and where Joe also had many good friends), Atlanta, Sea Island, and points near and far, too many of which to mention here. Those who know them know they shared a passion for each other, travel, good food, and exceptional wine. As one friend said, “he brought joy into every room he entered,” and he certainly brought that joy to Mary.

Joe was a member of the TGA, the Traveling Golf Association. The TGA was a group of lifelong friends who traveled all over the world to play golf at exceptional golf courses such

as Bandon Dunes, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, and Whistling Straights, to name a few. Joe also was a past president of the Atlanta Classic Foundation, that hosted a stop on the PGA tour. He was passionate about golf, both the camaraderie and sport of it.

If you met Joe Guy, you loved Joe Guy and became an instant friend. Joe was ever resourceful, having created the Joe Bob drink out of necessity, with his good friend Bob Cruikshank. He created a nickname for every friend and a funny T-shirt for every occasion. He considered himself to be a blond with 59 years of age plus 27 years of experience.

Joe was a member of Capital City Club, Ocean Forest Club, Sea Island Club, Greensboro Country Club, and Bon Appetit, also in Greensboro. Through his wife, Mary, he was a member of The Assembly in Greensboro (not to be confused with The Assembly studios in Doraville). As well, he was a member of the Investments Unlimited Club, the 300 Club of Atlanta, former member of the Atlanta Athletic Club, and a proud founding member of “The Table of Nowledge” at Capital City Club.

Joe was preceded in death by his wife Betsy Wylie Guy, his parents, Joseph Norman Guy, Jr. and Nancy Scott Guy and his sister, Katherine (Kitty) Guy Weatherford. Joe leaves behind so many who cherish his joyful memory, especially his wife, Mary Copeland Guy, his children Brindley Guy Johnson (Michael Niven) and Ross Wylie Guy (Martha Joines), his grandchildren who knew him as Papa Joe, Lela Sidney Johnson (Princess Pig to her Papa Pig), Michael Ross Johnson, Joseph Norman Guy IV, and Betsy Olivia Guy as well as his twin sisters, Roberta Guy Lammon and Marghuerita Guy Jones.

Donations may be made to Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Shepherd Center Foundation, the Montgomery County Historical Society, or the Atlanta History Center in Joe’s memory.