Joe Matlock

Joe L. Matlock, age 88, went home to be with his Lord, Friday, September 13, 2013, after a long illness at the Health Center at Richland Place in Nashville, Tennessee. Joe was born December 23, 1924 in Luxora, Arkansas, the only child of John Curtis Matlock and Ona Kate Lanier Matlock. He grew up during the great depression, and graduated from the University of Arkansas, pledging Phi Alpha Kappa Fraternity. He tried his hand at farming in the 1950's, but the business world is where Joe would make his mark; specifically, the automotive parts replacement business. Working for several companies in the 50's and 60's, Joe eventually worked his way up the ladder to President of Parts, Inc., a Memphis-based firm. His franchise ideas were incorporated into the successful Parts Plus, a company that spread throughout the country in the 1970's and 80's. Joe Matlock was a master of reinvention. Whether it was crafting pieces of wood into furniture, converting a marketing idea into a profitable venture or transforming an inner weakness into a strength. Joe could take adversity and forge prosperity. Fueled by a resiliency he inherited from his father and mother in rural Arkansas, Joe survived the loss of loved ones and jobs to craft a life that was an example to all. Preceding Joe in death, in 1979, was his first wife, Precious Stovall Matlock. He married Sally Campbell McAdoo, in 1981, in Memphis. In retirement Joe and Sally lived in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas before moving to Nashville, Tennessee to be near their families. Joe is survived by his wife, Sally McAdoo Matlock, and four children, Patrick Loyd and his wife Janet, Barbara Stovall Haller and her husband Bill, Mark Curtis and his wife Kathy, and Anne Leigh Ingram and her husband Craig, and eleven grandchildren. As well, Joe's family included Sally's children, Anne McAdoo Ross, Jamie McAdoo Brewer, William McAdoo and Sarah McAdoo Brewer and her nine grandchildren. Among these two families there are 13 great grandchildren. Services will be held at Harpeth Hills Funeral Home in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, September 17, 2013 at 3:00 PM with Father James Guill of Saint Andrews Parish officiating. Joe will be laid to rest in Memphis with his first wife. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Christmas Fund at Richland Place, 500 Elmington Avenue # 220, Nashville, Tennessee 37205. The family wishes to thank Lisa McDowell, loyal friend and care-giver, and the staff at the Health Center a Richland Place, and Caris Hospice for their kindness and devotion to Joe in the past few Years.