Oliver Ashby Reardon

OLIVER ASHBY REARDON August 29, 1928 - January 15, 2011 Oliver Ashby Reardon, 82, of Alexandria Va. and Naples, Fla., died Saturday, January 15 in Naples.. He was predeceased by his parents, Oliver Ashby Reardon Sr., and Jessica Crump Reardon, both also of Alexandria. Surviving family include a sister, Phyllis Morrison of Balboa Island, Calif., and four children: Cary Nunnally of Newport News, Va., Julia Lee Reardon, of Orlean, Va., Jennifer Ashby MacGill of Woodbridge, Va. and Brian Ashby Reardon of Baltimore. His marriages to Jan Marthinson Mewhinney and Vivian Huhs Carrington ended in divorce. Although he maintained homes in both Naples and Alexandria, Ashby Reardon's home and heart belonged in Virginia. One of a dwindling handful of Alexandria native sons with roots tracing back to colonial times, he was born in the City, attended Alexandria city public schools, lived and raised a family here, and worked here almost his entire adult life. Reardon graduated from George Washington High School in Alexandria and attended the University of Virginia for a year before entering the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating with the Class of 1951. He was very active in the USNA Alumnae Association, and served as his class President in 1975. Following graduation, he served for 9 years as a Navy Lt. 03, including tours in the South Pacific, Pentagon and Mediterranean. Following his Navy service, he worked for the family business, the Mutual Ice Company in Alexandria. MICO was founded by the Reardons and another Alexandria family in the 19th century to sell ice and fuel oil. Ashby liked to joke that a Reardon and a Hammond Snyder got together in the early 1800s because one had a mule and the other had a wagon, and they started selling ice. Originally located in the heart of downtown, the business moved to 1200 N. Henry Street at the turn of the 20th century. When refrigerated railroad cars replaced the manually-iced cars in the early 1960s and ice sales fell, MICO eventually diversified into hardware, laminate and cabinet sales and distribution. With Ashby Senior running the show, Ashby Junior left MICO to work as a stockbroker at the Alexandria offices of Johnston & Lemon, eventually managing the office. After his father's death, he rejoined MICO, a privately held corporation, led it through a tumultuous reorganization, chaired its Board of Directors and became President, positions he held until his death. From an early age, Ashby was mesmerized by the water, and not just the waterfront Potomac of Alexandria. The open ocean drew him to the U.S. Navy, to his passions of flying and sailing, and to the purchase in 1982 of his waterfront home on the Gulf of Mexico in Naples, Fla. where he spent winters. An avid sailor and pilot, Ashby owned and raced several sailing boats and competed in local and international sailing races with his Alberg 30 and Hinckley 38. He twice raced his Hinckley to completion in the internationally-known Newport to Bermuda race, a rigorous journey in open ocean from Rhode Island to Bermuda, and he taught sailing in Annapolis, Md. for several years. He also enjoyed flying, held a pilots license, and owned several single engine planes including his pride and joy, a restored Stearman biplane which he kept at the municipal airport in Fauquier County. In Naples, he volunteered for many years on the Naples Civil Air Patrol. But Ashby is perhaps best remembered for his gregarious nature and love of a good joke. He was frequently spotted at Old Town watering holes as well as for coffee hour at Shuman's Bakery, or at Belle Haven Country Club. Despite his penchant for bawdy humor, he also loved classical music, especially the composers Shubert, Mozart and Chopin. Funeral services will be held on Friday Jan. 28th from 11 to 1 p.m. at Everly Wheatley Funeral Home in Alexandria with private interment in the family plot at Ivy Hill Cemetary. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, friends can make donations to the Naples Civil Air Patrol or to the 24 Hour Club, 1509 Pine Ridge Rd., Naples Fla. 34109.