Price Well & Pump Company was founded by Josiah (Joe) Price, born July 21, 1935.
He was a devoted son, husband, father, Papaw Joe, and friend to many.
Joe was the youngest child of David and Daisy Caldwell Price. Joe was a loving brother to Thomas (1930-1940) and Martha (1932-2008) Price. The family grew up on a rocky, mountainous farm in Freezeland on Highway 63 in Madison County. Mr. David Price (Joe’s Father) passed away when Joe was only four years old. Mrs. Price continued to raise the children on the farm while renters raised a tobacco crop, and she milked cows and sold milk to make a living. Joe fondly remembered delivering milk containers to the milk company by pulling a little red wagon; and splitting wood for cooking and heating.
Joe attended Spring Creek School for 12 years, graduating in 1953. He was a star basketball player and soared as a left-handed batter on the baseball team.
After high school, Joe attended Warren Wilson College. He attended for one quarter and said, “enough of that.” Afterward he went to Newport News, VA and worked in the shipyard. Following a year of service, Joe returned to Western North Carolina and worked for Dayco Southern (Dayco). During this time, he invested into what became the family business of Caldwell Well Drilling, with an uncle, half-brother, and two cousins. By 1957, he was working in drilling full-time, beginning a new chapter in his life’s work.
On December 21, 1959, Joe married the love of his life, a lovely schoolteacher by the name of Ruby Radford. In September of 1962, the couple was blessed with a beautiful blue-eyed daughter by the name of Julia Ann; but everyone called her Judy.
In early 1972, Joe left Caldwell Drilling to purchase his own rig and launch his own organization. This company became Price Well & Pump Company.
Since 1972, Price Well & Pump Company grew and expanded. In 1983, Judy and her husband, Bobby Willis, became active participants in the family business. However, in March 1987, tragedy struck, and Bobby was electrocuted, causing his untimely passing, during a well pump installation.
In January 2008, bad news struck again, as Joe Price was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. He lived only two months following his diagnosis.
Today, Judy Price Brookshire is the helm of the family business, carrying forth the traditions and principles set forth by her daddy.
Judy is as much as an inspiration as her father was: Price Well & Pump is the only woman-owned well drilling company in Western North Carolina (since 2008). Judy is dedicated to her business, her clients, her friends, and the animals she nurtures on her small farm. She values her time with her children and grandchildren above all else; truly appreciating the time she can steal away with family, with sand between her toes and sun on her shoulders.
Contact Us for More Information: (828) 627-2817