JACK BEDDOW

1921 - 2020

BEDDOW Jack W. Beddow Former President, CEO, and Director of First American Bankshares, Inc. in Washington, DC, died on April 19, 2020 at the Ingleside at King Farm retirement community in Rockville, Maryland. He was 98. According to his son William, the cause of death was complications from a stroke in 2019. Mr. Beddow's career spanned more than 22 years as an attorney in private practice and with the federal government, and nearly 25 years in banking. As a Director of First American Bankshares, he served with former Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford and former U.S. Senator Charles "Mac" Mathias. Mr. Beddow was born in Lundale, West Virginia on December 23, 1921, the son of William W. and Mattie (Godby) Beddow. The youngest of three sons, he grew up in Slagle, West Virginia, where his father was a mining supervisor and administrator. Mr. Beddow described Logan County as a "tough, but beautiful part of the country where, because life was so demanding, the people develop a great deal of patience and steady nerves." He graduated from Logan High School in 1940, where he was valedictorian and a star end for the school football team. In 1944 he graduated from West Virginia University where he also played football, and enrolled immediately into the U.S. Army's Officer Candidate School. In late 1944 Mr. Beddow was commissioned as a Lieutenant with the Army's 10th Armored Division and deployed to Europe, where he served as part of the Division's final push into Germany. After VE Day, he was stationed in southern Germany before returning to the U.S. on leave before scheduled redeployment to the Pacific. In a favorite family story, he was waiting in a Washington, DC bar for a train back home when Japan surrendered and was part of the large crowd that gathered in front of the White House to celebrate the end of the war. Returning to civilian life, Mr. Beddow enrolled in West Virginia University's School of Law in 1945, where he was also president of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Graduating in 1948, he returned to Logan to practice law with the firm that later became Valentine, Valentine & Beddow. In 1949 he married the former Joan Work Thistle, whom he met at West Virginia University. In 1965 they moved with their three sons and dog Heidi to Bethesda, Maryland where he was appointed Associate Chief Counsel for the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. He later held a number of senior positions at Financial General Bankshares, Inc., which was reorganized as First American Bankshares in 1982, and was named President, CEO, and Director in 1989. Mr. Beddow was above all a dedicated family man who took enormous pride in his sons and their families. He was a passionate sailor: family vacations routinely involved sailing on the Chesapeake, in the Bahamas, and in the Caribbean, and every weekend possible was spent on the family sailboat in Annapolis, MD. He also enjoyed playing tennis with his wife Joan until late in life, often at their condominium in Singer Island, Florida. Mr. Beddow is survived by his wife of 70 years, Joan Thistle Beddow, and his sons William of Bethesda, Maryland; David (Sue Scott Beddow) of Potomac, Maryland; and Jeffrey (Nicola Underwood Beddow) of Falls Church, Virginia. He also leaves four grandchildren: Margaret (Ivano Ventresca) of Washington, DC; Jamie (Kelly McMahon) of Washington, DC; Thomas of Dallas, Texas; and Christopher of Richmond, Virginia. His great-grandson and namesake is fifteen-month-old Jack Frasier Ventresca, the delight of his last months. Given current restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans for a memorial service will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Westminster Ingleside Foundation, which raises funds in support of the Ingleside continuing care communities in Maryland, Virginia, and DC More information is available at www.givetowif.org.Given current restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans for a memorial service will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Westminster Ingleside Foundation, which raises funds in support of the Ingleside continuing care communities in Maryland, Virginia, and DC More information is available at www.givetowif.org.