Herman J. Beckstoffer Remembered

The below obituary was published May 13, 1997 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Herman J. Beckstoffer was part of the second generation of the Mill family.

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Herman Joseph Beckstoffer Sr., retired president of H. Beckstoffer's Sons Inc., died Monday. The Richmond native was 87.

Mr. Beckstoffer retired from the firm in 1984 after serving as president for 50 years. What his father started as a Church Hill lumber mill, he made into an architectural millwork operation.

A 1927 graduate of Benedictine College, now Benedictine High School, he played a season of football with the Richmond Howitzers, a semi-pro team in the same league as the Washington Redskins before the creation of the National Football League. Soon after, he joined the family business.

He was a past president of the board of visitors of Benedictine High School and was instrumental in establishing the Benedictine Athletic Association.

A member of St. Paul Catholic Church, he was also a member of Saint Mary's Social Union, the West End Catholic Men's Association and the Church Hill Gang.

He was as a member of the board of directors of Holy Cross Cemetery for 50 years. He was a founding member of the Virginia Architectural Woodwork Institute and the Lambs Club as well as an adviser to the Richmond Technical Center.

Survivors include his wife, Rose Marie Simonpietri Beckstoffer; six sons, Herman J. Beckstoffer Jr. of Richmond, W. Andrew Beckstoffer of St. Helena, Calif., and Ronald A. Beckstoffer, Richard H. Beckstoffer, John C. Beckstoffer and Robert L. Beckstoffer, all of Richmond; two daughters, Rose Adele Gallo of Yardley, Pa., and Anne Marie Ajemian of Waynesboro; and a brother, Frank W. Beckstoffer of Richmond.

REPOST(4/22/10): Why'd you write this?

My job as a project manager with the Better Housing Coalition (BHC) has me working every day with the bones of an 80 year old brick factory called the Beckstoffers Mill. Beckstoffers is located on N 28th Street in the Church Hill neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. This 2.5 acre site, the former home of a custom architectural millwork and lumber mill, is currently in the process of being revitalized.

Plans call for the conversion of this former light industrial site to become a mixed-income, mixed-use housing development that will have 72 homes, some apartments, some houses, some town homes. But that's not the purpose for this blog. I am very fortunate to be able to manage the redevelopment of this complex development. But that's my day job and I tell that part of the Beckstoffers story often. Plus, others have managed the renovation of mills into housing or commercial uses so that's not so unique.

However, planning for the Mill's revitalization has provided a unique opportunity for me to understand the history, meet some of the family and learn some great stories of the Mill's impact on the greater Richmond area. It's a story of family commerce, quality craftsmanship, economic development and some really cool woodworking machines. I hope through this blog to tell the story of the Beckstoffer's Mill, some of the players involved, and the many homes and businesses throughout Richmond that the Mill touched in its long history.