Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

December 3, 2024

EMERALD ISLE – Alan Joyner Sykes, 77, of Matthews, North Carolina, passed away Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at his beach house in Emerald Isle, North Carolina.

Born August 2, 1947, in Enfield, North Carolina, Alan was the son of the late Marion Parker Sykes and Doris Pittman Sykes.

Alan grew up in Enfield, North Carolina, where his parents operated a small “four-mule” family farm.  Alan spent his formative years working on the farm “the old way” – plowing fields behind a mule, chopping tobacco and other crops by hand, and curing tobacco in a wood-burning flue. These experiences taught Alan the values of humility and hard work, in addition to fostering a lifelong love for gardening and home-grown produce.

Alan’s mother and late aunt, Edith Sykes, instilled in him the value of education, and one of the proudest moments of Alan’s life was when the principal of Enfield High School announced to the entire school that Alan had been awarded a scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in English, Alan took a teaching job at East Carolina University in Greenville, where he met his beloved spouse, Tanya. They wed on August 23, 1970, and were married for 54 years. 

Alan began his professional career with the Carolina Telephone and Telegraph Company in 1970 and spent the next 31 years in the telecommunications industry, eventually retiring from Sprint Corporation in 2001 as Executive Vice President.  Alan and Tanya moved several times for Alan’s career, with many of their years spent in Overland Park, Kansas, where they raised their two sons.  He loved his coworkers, and the times he spent with his friends at barbecue contests, his annual “pig pickin” parties, and on Super Bowl trips to Key West were among his fondest memories.

Alan was generous, affectionate, and effusive.  He loved hosting and cooking for others, especially at his annual Fourth of July fish fry at the beach house in Emerald Isle.  Intellectually curious and an enthusiastic reader, Alan loved to learn and share his knowledge about a range of topics, particularly literature and American history.  He was an avid fan of UNC basketball and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Alan is survived by his wife, Tanya Sykes, of Matthews; two sons, Jordan Sykes and his wife, Leslie, of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Ruffin Sykes and his wife, Jenna, also of Charlotte. Alan adored his grandchildren, Hollis and Halkett Sykes, of Charlotte, who held a special place in his heart.  He loved being their “Boppa” more than anything else in the world. 

Also surviving are his older brother, Marion Sykes, and his wife, Gwen, of Havelock, North Carolina; his younger sister, Phyllis Parker, of Greenville, North Carolina; his younger brother, Phil Sykes, and his wife, Wanda, of Enfield, North Carolina, and by his sister-in-law, Kris Cornatzer, of Advance, North Carolina.  He also leaves behind several nieces and nephews as well as grand-nieces and grand-nephews, all of whom he cherished deeply.  Alan was preceded in death by his older brother, Horace Sykes.

Memorial services are being planned for the spring of 2025.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.