Remembering Rev. J.B. Fleming: A Beacon of Faith and Community Leadership

The Hampton Roads Community is in mourning following the death of Rev. Dr. Joe Billy Fleming, a distinguished clergy figure, who passed away on April 15, 2025. Born on November 8, 1941, in Holdenville, Oklahoma, he was the ninth of eleven siblings. Joe married his college love, Johnnie Mitchell, in 1964, raising three children together. He became the eighth pastor of Portsmouth’s historic Third Baptist Church in 1981, dedicating thirty-five years of service before retiring in 2016, where he was later named Pastor Emeritus.