de Bedts, Ralph Fortes

1910 - 1994  (83 years)

• Name	de Bedts, Ralph Fortes  [1]
  Born	4 Mar 1910	Kearny, Hudson, New Jersey, USA   [2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Died	6 Jan 1994	Norfolk, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA   [3, 4]
  Person ID	I26272	Our Family
  Last Modified	16 Jan 2024

  
  

  Family	Brandes, Ruth,   b. 18 Jan 1912, Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, USA ,   d. 17 Mar 1961, Norfolk, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA  (Age 49 years)
  Married	Between 1935 and 1940
  Married	18 Jan 1936	Florida, USA   [5]
  Last Modified	16 Jan 2024
  Family ID	F9902	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Ralph Fortes de Bedts, Ph.D., of the 1100 block of Manchester Avenue, a retired professor of history at Old Dominion University, died January 6, 1994, in Norfolk. Ralph Fortes de Bedts, a son of Charles and Bertha de Bedts, was born on March 4, 1910, in Kearney, New Jersey, but was reared in South Florida. Educated in the public schools of Miami, he realized a long-standing desire for a college education by receiving his B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Miami in 1957. After working for the railway postal service, he served in the US Army in the Second World War. On receiving his M.A., he worked as chief accountant for Dade County, Florida. Finding that he loved higher education, he went on to study for his doctorate; in 1960 he received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He came to Norfolk in 1960 as a professor of history at the Norfolk Division of William and Mary, which subsequently became Old Dominion University, where he was chair of the history department from 1968 to 1974. His distinguished teaching and publication was recognized by the Board of Visitors which named him Distinguished Professor of History and then Eminent Professor of History Emeritus, and he served as first president of the Faculty Emeriti Faculty Association. Among his honors were a Fulbright Lecturer at the University of Hong Kong (1964), and he won a national contest to teach US diplomatic history at the National University of Ireland. He was the author of numerous articles and four books, the last of which was Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, 1938-1940. In retirement he continued to write and publish, lectured in the Elderhostel program, and was an active member of the Norfolk Torch Club and the Norfolk Round Table. Survivors include his wife Elizabeth Munro Seelinger of Norfolk, a brother Charles de Bedts, Jr., of Escondido, California, a niece, Mrs. Carolyn Hecker, of Melbourne, Florida, two nephews, Charles de Bedts, III, of Los Angeles, and Anthony P. de Bedts, of Vienna, Austria, and a brother-in-law, Sherman E. Seelinger, of Millbrae, California. He was predeceased by his first wife Ruth Brandes of Coral Gables, Florida, and Norfolk. Ralph Fortes de Bedts, Ph.D., of the 1100 block of Manchester Avenue, a retired professor of history at Old Dominion University, died January 6, 1994, in Norfolk. Ralph Fortes de Bedts, a son of Charles and Bertha de Bedts, was born on March 4, 1910, in Kearney, New Jersey, but was reared in South Florida. Educated in the public schools of Miami, he realized a long-standing desire for a college education by receiving his B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Miami in 1957. After working for the railway postal service, he served in the US Army in the Second World War. On receiving his M.A., he worked as chief accountant for Dade County, Florida. Finding that he loved higher education, he went on to study for his doctorate; in 1960 he received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He came to Norfolk in 1960 as a professor of history at the Norfolk Division of William and Mary, which subsequently became Old Dominion University, where he was chair of the history department from 1968 to 1974. His distinguished teaching and publication was recognized by the Board of Visitors which named him Distinguished Professor of History and then Eminent Professor of History Emeritus, and he served as first president of the Faculty Emeriti Faculty Association. Among his honors were a Fulbright Lecturer at the University of Hong Kong (1964), and he won a national contest to teach US diplomatic history at the National University of Ireland. He was the author of numerous articles and four books, the last of which was Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, 1938-1940. In retirement he continued to write and publish, lectured in the Elderhostel program, and was an active member of the Norfolk Torch Club and the Norfolk Round Table. Survivors include his wife Elizabeth Munro Seelinger of Norfolk, a brother Charles de Bedts, Jr., of Escondido, California, a niece, Mrs. Carolyn Hecker, of Melbourne, Florida, two nephews, Charles de Bedts, III, of Los Angeles, and Anthony P. de Bedts, of Vienna, Austria, and a brother-in-law, Sherman E. Seelinger, of Millbrae, California. He was predeceased by his first wife Ruth Brandes of Coral Gables, Florida, and Norfolk.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1678] Death Certificate, for Ruth. [S1218] Virginia Marriages, LDS, for later marriage to Elizabeth Seelinger. [S24] Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, Main SSA Claims source reference. [S849] Virginia Deaths, LDS. [S79] Wedding Announcement, weddingchannel.com.