Stephen Allyn Redshaw Sr.

1937 - 2024

Stephen Allyn Redshaw Sr.
Rockville, MD - Stephen Allyn Redshaw Sr., a resident of The Village at Rockville in Rockville, Maryland, passed away on May 21, 2024, at Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville. The cause of death was complications following a recent surgery. He was 86 years old.
Born in Jacksonville, Illinois, on November 29, 1937, Mr. Redshaw was a three-sport athlete at Winchester (Illinois) High School, excelling at basketball. He averaged 28 points a game his senior year, earning him "All State" honors and the nickname "The Winchester Rifle," which he thoroughly enjoyed.
He was awarded a full scholarship to play basketball at St. Louis University, playing alongside Bob Ferry, an All-American who later played with the Detroit Pistons in the NBA. The SLU Billikens won the Missouri Valley Conference championship his junior year, 1958, and he received the Billiken Sportsmanship Award that year. The Billikens' schedule included several powerhouse programs, including an Adolph Rupp-coached Kentucky team, a Kansas team built around Wilt Chamberlain, and a Cincinnati team featuring Oscar Robertson.
After graduating from SLU with a B.S. degree in Commerce and a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, he was called to active duty in September 1959. He was stationed at Amarillo Air Force Base in Texas and Turner Air Force Base in Albany, Georgia. He was honorably discharged from active duty in 1962 with a rank of First Lieutenant.
In 1960, while still in the Air Force, he married his college sweetheart, Patricia Maloney of St. Louis, Missouri. Patricia, who grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves, was a Billiken cheerleader and they embraced their "cliché origin story" for the next six decades before Patricia passed in 2021. Their son, Stephen Jr., was born in 1961 while Mr. Redshaw was stationed at Turner Air Base.
After the Air Force, Mr. Redshaw joined the FBI and was assigned to the FBI office in Dallas, where he was a member of the FBI team investigating the November 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He was then assigned to the FBI office in Amarillo, Texas, where his first daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1964. In 1965, he was transferred to the FBI office in Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, he was assigned to the FBI office in Pasadena, California, a plum assignment that may or may not have been influenced by his personal delivery to J. Edgar Hoover of a cardboard box filled with dry ice and a big bowl of chili from one of Mr. Hoover's favorite restaurants, the now-closed Chasen's of West Hollywood. A second daughter, Susan, was born in Altadena , California, in 1965 and a third daughter, Nancy, was born in Altadena in 1967. He left the FBI in 1968.
After the FBI, Mr. Redshaw worked as Director of Security for Bullock's, a department store chain with 12 stores in southern California. When he left Bullock's in 1978, he was General Manager of the downtown Los Angeles store. This store – a sprawling testament to the golden days of department stores -- was about 1 million square feet in size and covered several city blocks. After Bullock's, he joined Hahne's Department stores in New Jersey, eventually becoming a Senior Vice President. In 1988, he left Hahne's to become Executive Vice President of Hygrade Distribution Company, a New Jersey-based company that provided warehousing and delivery services for major retailers. He retired from Hygrade in 1998.
In retirement, he and Patricia lived first on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, then moved to Bristol, Virginia and then Rockville, Maryland. Along the way, he was able to pursue his various passions, including golf, tennis, travel, stained glass, genealogy and his 11 beloved grandchildren. He is the author of "New Beginnings: The Genealogy and Union of the Allyn and Redshaw Families," the result of 24 years of research, self-published in 2006.
Mr. Redshaw is predeceased by his wife of 61 years, Patricia. He is survived by his children: Stephen Jr. (Susan) of Portland, Oregon; Elizabeth (Peter) Thomas of Chevy Chase, Maryland; Susan Brayshaw of Alexandria, Virginia; and Nancy (Scott) Bradley of East Norwalk, Connecticut.
He is also survived by 11 grandchildren: Evelyn Redshaw of Burlington, Vermont; Margaret Redshaw of Portland, Oregon; Jeffrey Thomas of Washington, D.C.; Andrew Thomas of Washington, D.C.; Theodore Thomas of Chevy Chase, Maryland; Dusty Fenton of Joshua Tree, California; William Brayshaw of Denver, Colorado; Camille Brayshaw of Alexandria, Virginia; Kevin Bradley of East Norwalk, Connecticut; Grace Bradley of New York City; and Benjamin Bradley of East Norwalk, Connecticut.
A memorial service was held on Sunday, May 26, 2024, at the Robert A. Pumphrey Funeral Home, 7557 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland followed by a reception at Columbia Country Club at 7500 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a contribution be made in memory of Stephen Allyn Redshaw, Sr., to the Parkinson's Foundation. The Foundation address is set forth below.
Parkinson's Foundation
200 SE 1st Street Suite 800
Miami, Florida 33131