Joe Allen Mann, Ph.D., 78, died Friday, Feb. 21, 2020, at his home in Kingsmill, Williamsburg. Born June 20, 1941, in Ronceverte, West Virginia, he was the son of Allen Luddington Mann and Margie Marie Mann.
Dr. Mann graduated from West Virginia University and received his doctorate in chemistry from Georgia Tech. He served on the advisory boards of several institutions of higher learning, including the Textile Research Institute, North Carolina State University at Greensboro and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Dr. Mann spent more than 13 years with Dow Badische, where he worked his way from an entry-level position to Division Research management in three years. From 1982 through 1987, Dr. Mann served as corporate director for Research and Development for Burlington Industries. While in this position, he met Carol Mann while working on a joint venture project with the military. They married in 1987.
He served as CEO and president of The Mann Group, a firm he formed to provide management consulting and technical troubleshooting services to the industry. Dr. Mann returned to Williamsburg in 1990 when BASF Fibers was planning to close its operation and stepped in to start Mann Industries, keeping more than 400 employees on the job.
Dr. Mann is listed in Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World and Who’s Who Among Emerging Leaders in America. He served as a trustee of the Leadership Historic Triangle, a founding member of the James City County Ambassadors Focus Group. He was a former member of the Williamsburg Rotary Club and the Colonial Republican Men’s Association.
Dr. Mann was preceded in death by his parents and an infant son, Joseph Christopher.
He is survived by his wife, Carol; two daughters, Mary Leigh Fluharty (Rich) and Susan Woloszyn (Nick); granddaughter, Alexandra Woloszyn; sister, Betty Mann Burke; two nieces, Bethany Jo Zambella (Tony) and Dr. Cindi Sanders (Scott); nephew, James Burke (Lisa); two great nieces, Mia and Ava; an aunt, Pat Reasor (Lee); and a host of cousins.
A visitation will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 26, at Nelsen Funeral Home, Strawberry Plains Road, Williamsburg. A celebration of Dr. Mann’s life will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 27, at Crosswalk Community Chapel, 7575 Richmond Road, Norge.
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