A staple in the local golf community and champion of veterans is headed south, not for the winter, but rather for retirement.

Joe Kitchen moved to Suffolk in 1993 after retiring from the United States Army. During his time in the city, he worked part-time for about 12 years at the Suffolk Golf Course, becoming a key contributor there.

“He was a great guy; I loved having him there,” said Eddie Luke, PGA professional at the Suffolk Golf Course. “It’s hard to find guys like Joe.”

After Kitchen’s wife retired recently, the couple made plans to move to Myrtle Beach, S.C. and said farewell to Suffolk on Saturday.

He has good reasons to come back and visit, however.

“I have three children that still live in Suffolk,” he said. “When I retired from the military, we moved here so I could raise my kids.”

Kitchen worked at the Ford Motor Company’s Norfolk Assembly Plant and was eventually invited to help out at the Suffolk Golf Course by the PGA Professional there at the time, Brian Hollowell.

“Suffolk Golf Course is a working man’s golf course, and I loved interacting with all the customers,” Kitchen said. “Ever since I’ve been there, it’s a great place to work. I started working there before the Ford plant shut down, and they had layoffs, and I’d just go there and help out.”

After the plant shut down, he stepped up his time at the golf course. When Eddie Luke and his business partner took over SGC, they convinced Kitchen to stay and made him a manager.

Kitchen said he learned to do everything while working there, but his primary responsibility was running the pro shop.

He eventually began to set up tournaments, something he learned how to do during his time with the Suffolk Men’s Golf Association, of which he was a member and held various positions at different times, including president and vice president.

“Eddie Luke actually encouraged me to do tournaments, like the Toys for Tots (tourney),” Kitchen said. “If I came up with an idea, he supported it, and he let me run with it.”

The popular Toys for Tots tournament raises money for Toys for Tots and also encourages participants to bring in new, unwrapped toys.

“That’s got to be my favorite tournament to do,” Kitchen said.

“I really appreciate (Luke) getting behind me and pushing me to do stuff, which led on to the other things that we’d come up with.”

Other tournaments Suffolk Golf Course has hosted include the Chili Open in January and the Frost Bite Open in February, “just things to get people out and involved in golf,” Kitchen said.

He also explored another passion during his time in Suffolk.

“I’ve been real active ever since retiring from the military in veteran-related issues,” he said.

He was the chairman of the United Auto Workers Local 919 Veterans committee. Among different activities, the committee worked to raise the spirits and serve the veterans at the Hampton VA Medical Center through various means, including cookouts.

Kitchen also spent time as vice president and later president of the local chapter of Rolling Thunder, a motorcycle group aiming to educate the public about veterans that become Prisoners Of War-Missing In Action.

Among other activities, twice a year the group would ride to the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and bring cheer to the children of veterans there.

The military connection was even present in Kitchen’s golf endeavors, as Toys for Tots is a mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.

Though he has moved away, Kitchen has no plan to move away from the game of golf.

“As long as I can swing a club, I’ll be out there,” he said.