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Obituary: John Jay Geddie, editor, co-owner of Loudoun Independent
The eastern Loudoun community lost a greatly respected journalist and beloved member of the community with the death of John Geddie Aug. 22 at Inova Fairfax Hospital.
Geddie, 70, had cancer.
At the time of his death, Geddie was co-owner and editor of the Loudoun Independent with publisher Amy L. Brown. He was also a former editor and columnist of The Loudoun Easterner for about 25 years.
"He probably taught me more about the newspaper business than anybody. That might be a surprise because my mom was a publisher for 18 years. What John taught me was the critical connection between the newspaper and the community. You have to know the dynamics of the community and if you don't have that relationship with readers you will ultimately fail. ...He was a solitary man and he used the written word to relate to the readers," Brown said.
Brown is the daughter of the late Beth Miller who was the publisher of the Loudoun Easterner.
Brown said Geddie's columns will be compiled but "we're not exactly sure what the end product will be."
"The Loudoun Independent will continue in his spirit," Brown said. "He was so black and white when it came to what journalism should be. He didn't leave me anything of a guessing game. I know what I have to do to go forward."
Sterling Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio was among those eulogizing Geddie.
"Geddie was relentless, a prolific and witty writer with endless energy. He loved Sterling and was devoted to serving Loudoun through his newspaper jobs at the Easterner and the Independent. Over 20 years, Loudoun changed but also grew up with the Geddie columns. As Loudoun got on the map of the world, we managed to keep the hometown flavor with Geddie's columns," Delgaudio said.
Geddie was born Jan. 11, 1937, in Gilmer, Texas, to the late Robert Singleton Geddie and the late Alice Childress Geddie.
Geddie was a graduate of East Texas State University, now an affiliate school of Texas A&M. He worked as a reporter for the San Angelo Standard-Times. He was drafted into the United States Army during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. From 1962-1972 Geddie was employed by the Dallas Morning News, and was among the reporters to cover the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. Geddie became the Washington bureau chief for the Dallas Morning News in 1972, covering both state and national news until 1981. He covered the Democratic and Republican conventions of 1976 and 1980, as well as the campaign trips of President George H.W. Bush and Howard Baker.
Geddie received numerous awards for journalism, several from the Headliners Foundation in Texas and is included on the Wall of Distinction at the Marshall Texas Courthouse Museum.
After leaving the Dallas Morning News, Geddie became administrative assistant to U.S. Rep. Abraham “Chick” Kazen (D-Texas) and later served as a speech writer for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works. During this time, Geddie also began working as the editor of the Loudoun Easterner.
In 2005, Geddie started the Loudoun Independent, which he co-owned with Brown.
He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Shannon Harris Geddie of Sterling. Other survivors include his son, John L. Geddie of Reston, his brother, Michael Geddie of Texas and several nieces and nephews
Memorials may be sent to The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 47, Leesburg, VA 20178.
Funeral services were conducted Wednesday, Aug. 29, by the Rev. David Pittman at Colonial Funeral Home in Leesburg. Burial was in Sterling Cemetery.
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