John Andrew Bedway

BEDWAY John Andrew Bedway, 86, of Cadiz, Oh., retired president of Bedway Coal Company and a longtime community leader, died July 8, 2007, at Harrison Community Hospital. His wife and five children were with him. Mr. Bedway was born in Adena, Ohio on November 30, 1920, one of nine children of George and Mary Bedway, immigrants from Tourza, Lebanon who owned a grocery store in Adena. He excelled at football at Adena High School, and was offered a full athletic scholarship to the University of Cincinnati. He was later inducted into the University of Cincinnati Athletic Hall of Fame. He served with the Big Red One in Europe during World War II, and achieved the rank of captain. After the war, he completed his degree in education at Cincinnati. In 1947 he married his high school sweetheart, Janet Dickerson. The couple moved to Cadiz in the early 1950s, where they raised their five children. After teaching a few years at Adena High, he joined his brother to build the Bedway Coal Company into a thriving operation. He served on numerous boards and organizations, including the Scouting Heritage Society, the National Trail Council, the University of Steubenville Board of Trustees as the former president, and the Regional Advisory Board of United National Bank. He was instrumental in establishing the former Community Center and swimming pool in Cadiz which is now the Belmont Technical College North campus. Mr. Bedway was preceded in death in addition to his parents, by 4 sisters Angie Madzia, Phoebe Bedway, Lillie Bedway, and Adelaide Bedway Shaheen. In addition to his wife, Mr. Bedway is survived by his five children, Marcia and George of Cadiz, Andrea and Tom of Columbus, Barbara (Greg Mitchell) of Nyack; a grandson, Andrew John; a brother, Toni (Nancy) Bedway of Wheeling; and 3 sisters, Genevieve Warner of St. Clairsville, Elizabeth Herbst of Columbus, and Jeri Buffin of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a beloved uncle to his many beloved nephews and nieces. Friends and family will be received from 2-4 and 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday, July 10, at CLARK-KIRKLAND FUNERAL HOME in Cadiz. A funeral mass will be held at St. Teresa of Avila Church in Cadiz at 11 a.m. Wednesday with Rev. Father Thomas Vennitti the celebrant. Burial will follow at Olive Branch Cemetery, Harrisville, Ohio. Vigil service will be held at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in the funeral home. Military graveside honors will be conducted by the Cadiz American Legion. Memorial contributions may be made to Ohio River Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America, P. O. Box 6186, Wheeling, W. Va. 26003; University of Cincinnati, Nicholas L. Skorich Scholarship Fund, c/o Paula Skorich Mathews, 134 Kingsbridge Drive, Lumberton, NJ 08048; or Franciscan University of Steubenville, Phoebe Bedway Scholarship Fund, 1235 University Boulevard, Steubenville, Ohio 43952. The memorial guestbook may be signed at www.clark-kirkland.com. "Sign the online guestbook at www.dispatch.com/obituaries"