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LEVERETT - Joseph C. Stokes Jr., 62, of Leverett, died Saturday, Sept. 19, at his home.

Born June 5, 1947, in Cambridge, he was the eldest son of the late Joseph C. Stokes Sr., and Ann Stokes. Joe married his wife, Deborah Hart Stokes, in 1968. He graduated from UMass Amherst's MBA program in 1975. Soon after, he began his career in banking. Throughout the years, Joe lived in Connecticut and Maryland with his family as he pursued his corporate career and became very successful. In March 2000, he and his wife returned home to Amherst and he began a second career as a lecturer at UMass Amherst's Isenberg School of Management. In 2003 and 2005, he achieved his most cherished role of grandfather to his two granddaughters.

Joe is survived by his beloved wife, Deborah; his daughter, Jennifer, and son-in-law, Daniel; and his two granddaughters, Katelyn and Abigail.

Funeral services will be Friday, Sept. 25, at 9 a.m. from the Douglass Funeral Service in Amherst, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Brigid's Church, Amherst. Burial will be private. Calling hours will be Thursday, Sept. 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Douglass Funeral Service. Memorials can be made in Joe's memory to St. Jude's Children Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Obituary and register are available at www.douglassfuneral.com.