John Palmer Fishwick (September 29, 1916 – August 9, 2010) was an American railroad executive and chief executive of Norfolk and Western Railway. Born in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...

, John was a graduate of Jefferson High School in downtown. He was one of four children, having two sisters and one brother, noted literary scholar and author,

Marshall Fishwick Marshall William Fishwick (July 5, 1923 – May 22, 2006) was an American multidisciplinary scholar, professor, writer, and editor who started the academic movement known as popular culture studies and established the journal ''Internationa ...

. Fishwick attended

Roanoke College Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional pr ...

, where he was a member of

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha or simply KA, is a social fraternity and a fraternal order founded in 1865 at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia. As of December 2015, the Kappa Alph ...

and served as editor of the College's newspaper. He graduated in 1937 with a major in English and a minor in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. Fishwick furthered his education at Harvard Law School, graduating in 1940. After completing law school he worked as an associate with

Cravath, Swaine & Moore Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (known as Cravath) is an American white-shoe law firm with its headquarters in New York City, and an additional office in London. The firm is known for its complex and high profile litigation and mergers & acquisiti ...

before joining the Navy in 1942. Fishwick left the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he joined Norfolk and Western in November 1945 and worked as assistant to the general counsel. In 1947, he was promoted to assistant general solicitor, and in 1951 he was promoted to assistant general counsel. In 1954, he was promoted yet again, this time to general solicitor. He served as general counsel until his promotion to chief executive in 1970. He served as the chief executive of Norfolk and Western from 1970 to 1981, his leadership was integral in the merger with Southern Railway to create the current Norfolk Southern Railway. After his retirement, he became a partner with Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf until his retirement in 1986. Fishwick's wife, Blair, was a fellow Roanoke College graduate. They had three children together and she was a well known artist in the Roanoke area. She died in June, 1987. Mr. Fishwick married Doreen Hamilton in 1989. Fishwick's son, John Fishwick, Jr., served as U.S. Attorney and is a practicing lawyer in Roanoke. On July 16, 2018 the Roanoke City School Board announced that Stonewall Jackson Middle School in Roanoke, VA would be renamed John P. Fishwick Middle School.

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History of Salem, Virginia
1916 births 2010 deaths People from Roanoke, Virginia Military personnel from Virginia Businesspeople from Virginia Roanoke College alumni Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Cravath, Swaine & Moore associates American chief executives {{US-CEO-stub