John Franklin Alspaugh

J. Frank Alspaugh, 91, of Trellis Crossing in Richmond, Va., died Thursday, July 12, 2012, due to congestive heart failure. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 59 years, Frances Rousseau Alspaugh. He is survived by a son, John F. Jr., a writer, and his wife, Patricia of Los Angeles, Calif.; daughter, Nancy Alspaugh-Jackson, a television producer and charitable foundation executive, and her husband, H. Read Jackson, and their son, Wyatt of Hidden Hills, Calif.; and grandson, Christopher "Chris" Lawson of the U.S. Navy and his wife Whitney and their daughter, Addison. Beloved "special" son, David Alspaugh, passed away in 1995. Also, preceding him in death were brother William T. "Bill" Alspaugh and wife, Theo, of Richmond; sisters, Elizabeth "Betty" Fulp (Mrs. James W. "Cotton") Powell and Jane (Mrs. J. Elwood) Spedden of Winston-Salem, N.C. Surviving are sister Mary Dell (Mrs. Harold L.) Wilson of High Point, N.C.; brother, Thomas M. "Tom" Alspaugh and wife, Beeva, and sister, Ruth "Rudy" (Mrs. Fritz B.) Luther of Winston-Salem; niece, Elissa Shoolroy (Mrs. Robert L. "Bobby") Williamson and great nephew, Douglas Brown of Richmond. A number of other beloved nieces, nephews, in-laws and cousins survive. He was appointed Director of the Virginia Division of Industrial Development (now Virginia Economic Development Partnership) by Governor Mill Godwin in 1967. He was subsequently reappointed State Director by Governors Linwood Holton, Mills Godwin again and John Dalton. In 1981, Governor Jim Hunt of North Carolina appointed him Executive Director of The Economic Development Group of that State. In 1982, he was called back to Virginia to be Director of Economic Development for Sovran Bank, now part of The Bank of America. He retired in 1989 as Senior Vice President. He was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Henrico County Economic Development Authority in 1995 and served through 2001. He was born in Winston-Salem, N.C. on February 23, 1921 and graduated from Reynolds High School there. He is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. Degree in Commerce. He was elected Permanent President of the Class of 1947. In 1975, he was elected President of U.N.C.'s national General Alumni Association. While at U.N.C., he was Vice President of the Student Body, Head Cheerleader, on the Gymnastics Team, a member of the Monogram Club and a member of the Chi Phi fraternity. He was selected to be a member of both of the highest honorary societies, The Order of the Golden Fleece and The Order of the Holy Grail. After his junior year, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, served with the Third Marine Division in the South Pacific during World War II and was honorably discharged a Captain. His business career began in the field of industrial relations with Western Electric Company of AT&T. Also, he was a sales representative with NCR in its accounting machines and computers division. His career in the Economic Development field began as industrial manager of the Winston-Salem, N.C. Chamber of Commerce. He moved from there to Newport News, Va., in 1960 to be Executive Director of The Peninsula Industrial Committee serving Newport News, Hampton, Williamsburg and York and James City Counties. He moved in 1967 to the position of Director of the Virginia Division of Industrial Development in Richmond, appointed by Governor Mills E. Godwin. Soon after being named Director of the Division of Industrial Development, which at the time was an integral part of the Governor's Office with direct access to the Governor, he added an International group staff in Richmond and in Europe. The Virginia Economic Development office was dedicated in Brussels, Belgium in 1969. The new office included representatives of the Virginia Port Authority and the Virginia Department of Agriculture that had operated previously in Antwerp, Belgium. Led by Governor Godwin, the formal opening of the Brussels office featured a black-tie dinner attended by a large number of Virginia business executives and State officials. Also, by the Prime Minister of Belgium, Gaston Eyskens, and a number of his Cabinet members. With the approval of Governor John Dalton, he established Virginia's Economic Development office in Tokyo, Japan in 1981. It was his responsibility to coordinate Governors' Foreign Missions to Europe and the Far East during his time with the four Administrations of Virginia he served. Nationally, he served as president of the National Association of State Development Agencies in 1972-73. He was the third member of the American Economic Development Council to receive its professional designation of C.E.D.(Certified Economic Developer). He also had the distinction of being a Fellow Member of A.E.D.C. and had served on its board of directors. He was an Honorary Life Member of the Southern Economic Development Council and had served on its board of directors. At the state level, he was a charter member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association. He was the first person to be voted to receive its Cardinal Award which recognizes "outstanding service and achievement within The Commonwealth of Virginia in furthering economic development over the years..." He was also named an Honorary Life Member of V.E.D.A. He has been a member of the board of directors of The Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Japan-Virginia Society and the Canada-Virginia Business Association of which he is an Honorary Lifetime Member. He is a current Honorary Board Member of Good Neighbor Village, an organization dedicated to providing residential facilities for developmentally disabled adults. He is a past member of the Downtown Club of Richmond and the Kanawha Recreation Association. His past activities included golf and tennis. As a member of the Tuckahoe Family YMCA he continued regular lap swimming. The family will receive friends on Monday, July 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Parham Chapel, Woody Funeral Home, 1771 N. Parham Rd. He was a member of the River Road United Methodist Church of Richmond at 8800 River Road, where a funeral service in celebration of his life will be held Tuesday, July 17 at 11:00 a.m. with a reception to follow in the Fellowship Hall there. Family and close friends will attend the burial service at 2:00 p.m. at Westhampton Memorial Park, 10000 Patterson Ave., after the reception. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to Good Neighbor Village, Inc., P.O. Box 38413, Richmond, Va. 23231; River Road United Methodist Church, 8800 River Road, Richmond, Va. 23229; or ACT Today! (Autism Care and Treatment), 19019 Ventura Blvd., Suite 200, Tarzana, Calif. 91356, www.act-today.org. Online condolences at woodyfuneralhomeparham.com