William Joseph Gildea Jr.

William Joseph Gildea Jr. of Bethesda, MD died on Sunday, June 14, 2020 following complications from Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Mary Frances; his sons, William J. Gildea III (Kelly Keane) and David Gildea (Stephanie Goldfine); his daughters, Maria Selwood (Christopher) and Ann Gallagher (Patrick); and eight grandchildren (William IV, Sophie, PJ, Olivia, Luke, Benjamin, Grayson and Nellie). Bill was born on February 2, 1939 in Baltimore, MD to William J. Gildea Sr. and Mary Gildea. He graduated from Calvert Hall College High School (1956) and Georgetown University (1960). He received his master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia University (1961), after which he served in the Army. He worked for the Baltimore Sun for a brief time before joining The Washington Post in 1965. He was a writer for the sports section (and spent a few years in the style section as an editor) until his retirement in 2005. In 1978, he received a Nieman journalism fellowship to study at Harvard University. He also wrote several books. Due to the the current Covid-19 restrictions, the immediate family will hold a private funeral. A memorial service for all who would like to attend will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism. https://giving.umd.edu/giving/Fund.php?name=shirley-povich-center-for-sports-journalism~2.