Joseph Lee Nassif Sr., who once served as the mayor of Chapel Hill, died on September 2 according to his family. He was 90 years old.

Nassif moved to Chapel Hill with his young family in 1964. He was elected in 1978 and served as the town’s mayor for six years after previously being elected to the Orange County Board of Commissioners and Chapel Hill’s Board of Aldermen. A North Carolina native, Nassif grew up in both Laurinburg and Wilson before attending Notre Dame to earn a degree in civil engineering in 1955. After serving in the U.S. Army for four years, he returned to the state to earn another degree — this time in architecture from N.C. State, which would eventually become his profession. Nassif helped construct several houses around the Chapel Hill area through his own architecture practice, which he ran until retiring in 2004.

Among some highlights of his mayoral tenure, Nassif helped coordinate the town’s purchase of 167 acres of land known as The Greene Tract in 1984. The property jointly owned by Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County continues to be earmarked for predominantly preservation and reserved for affordable housing construction. Nassif also helped oversee the town’s celebration and coordination following the UNC men’s basketball team winning a national title in 1982.

Joseph Nassif. (Photo via NCModernist.org.)

Beyond his community participation through being mayor, Nassif also was known for his several years of coaching pee-wee football through Chapel Hill’s Parks and Recreation Department — often being called “Coach Joe” around town.

Current Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger spoke about Nassif during Wednesday’s town council meeting, sharing some of the ways he helped.

“Our condolences go out to his partner of 30 years, as well as his children and grandchildren,” she said.

Nassif is survived by Carol Oldham, his aforementioned partner, as well as his children Joseph Jr., Karen Tyner, Thomas, and Susan Taylor. The family is organizing a Catholic funeral mass in his honor at St. Thomas More Catholic Church on October 2. Details, as well as a full obituary, can found here.

Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill/Flickr.

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