GRANITE CITY HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS OF 1957

Ralph E. Beedle grew up in Granite City where his parents were both employed in the steel industry. Following graduation from Granite City Senior High School in June 1957, he attended Northwestern University where he studied engineering physics. While at Northwestern, he was enrolled in the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corp (NROTC) which led to an appointment to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in June 1958.

Graduated from the United States Naval Academy in June 1962, he became an Ensign in the US Navy. With the Academy training completed, he continued his education in the Nuclear Power and Submarine Training Programs. His first duty assignment was aboard the USS TRITON (SSN 586), the US Navy’s only twin reactor powered submarine. After two years of sea duty, Lieutenant Beedle became an instructor at the Nuclear Power School at Bainbridge, Maryland. During this period, he completed qualification requirements to serve as a nuclear power submarine engineer.

In August 1968, he reported to the USS QUEENFISH (SSN 651) where he served as the Engineering Officer. In August 1970, the USS QUEENFISH completed a submerged transit to the North Pole where Lieutenant Commander Beedle and other crew members walked on the ice at the “Top of the World.” After completing thousands of miles of submerged operations in June 1972, he reported to the Secretary of the Navy for duty in the Office of Program Appraisal, Washington, D.C. Mr. Beedle served as an analyst for the Submarine and Strategic Programs until June 1974.

Lieutenant Commander Beedle returned to sea as the Executive Officer of the USS STURGEON (SSN 637). After a little over two years of duty in STURGEON, Commander Beedle was selected for duty as a nuclear submarine commanding officer. On October 21, 1977, he became the Commanding Officer of the USS LOS ANGELES (SSN 688). The LOS ANGELES is the lead ship of the 688 Class of high performance nuclear submarines. With the motto, “The First and the Finest”, the LA made a historic transit of the Panama Canal to become the first 688 in the Pacific and the first to conduct extended operations in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Completing duty in LOS ANGELES, Captain Beedle was assigned to Submarine Squadron SEVEN in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. After two years as the squadron Chief of Staff, he was detailed to the Secretary of the Navy’s Strategic Studies Group at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. This assignment culminated in a report to the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations with recommendations for improvement in naval strategic planning.

Mr. Beedle retired from the Navy after 21 years of service. For the following 20 years, he worked in the commercial nuclear power industry. He has been employed by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations in Atlanta, Georgia, responsible for nuclear plant inspections. He served for many years at the New York Power Authority responsible for the operation of two nuclear plants. He retired again in 2003, after serving as the first Chief Nuclear Officer for the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, D.C. He has been a strong advocate for commercial nuclear power plants and has appeared a number of times before Congress and in the national media in support of the US commercial nuclear power program.

Mr. Beedle married Nancy Ann Sowell on June 6, 1962, the day he graduated from the Naval Academy. Nancy is also a 1957 graduate of Granite City Senior High School. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from Grinnell College in Grinnel, Iowa, and taught school before becoming a “Navy Wife.” Ralph and Nancy have one son, Andrew, who operates a computer-related business in Virginia. Andrew and his wife have three children.