A doctor turned mining man, Reddy apparently retired after selling the Blue Ledge copper mine, becoming Medford's mayor and one of its most energetic boosters.

    Whoever first asked "What's in a name?" must have had Dr. J. F. Reddy of Medford in mind. For the doctor is always ready to push anything along that he believes is good for the community.
    He is, and he has been--and he declares he always will be. Doc has talked with the crowned heads of Europe, the soft heads of New York and the boneheads of Portland, and he has boosted for Medford and the Rogue River Valley before all three.
    To tell all that the genial doctor has done for Medford would be to exhaust the print paper supply of the continent. It can't be told, for a good portion of the achievements are not known--except to a few, and they won't tell.
    The title of doctor is shrouded in mystery. But no appellation could be more appropriate, for if there is anything wrong Doc is called in to fix it. If there is anything to be done you will find the doctor with his shirt sleeves rolled up in the van of the column.
    Lest this degenerate into mawkish eulogy, let it be said that Doc Reddy is not without enemies. The native Oregonians are nix for him. For whenever Doc gets a chance to talk he always declares that no one can show him anything an Oregonian has done for Oregon. He avers there was a time when the native sons had to be thrown down and bound ere they would have their whiskers clipped.
    But we digress. Dr. Reddy was born shortly after the close of the Civil War--or, to be exact, December 3, 1866--in Cleveland, O.
    A family tradition has it that at the age of three months he joined the "Can Do It" club and crept to Chicago, attracted by the civic emblem "I Will."
    Becoming of age was celebrated by migrating to San Diego in 1888, where the mine bee started to buzz in the doctor's bonnet, and the next year he hied for Spokane and the silver and lead fields of the Coeur d'Alene.
    The Blue Ledge Mine must receive credit for Doc Reddy's settling in the Rogue River Valley, and since 1903 he has been active member of the Nash office brigade and a general hustler for everything for the benefit of the valley.
    It's a shame not to tell more about the doctor. He was mayor a few years ago, and he's pulled off more stunts than you can shake a stick at. But if anyone wants more information, here's a tip: Medford was about as big as Jacksonville when the doctor came here. Now look at it!
"Medford's Hall of Fame," Medford Sun, July 30, 1911, page 5


    Dr. J. F. Reddy and prosperity arrived in the Rogue River Valley about the same time. His influence, precept and example have been behind many of the good things which Medford has achieved. Dr. Reddy's public spirit is shown by the large amount of time and money he has devoted to unselfish boosting of Southern Oregon. He has many friends wherever he goes, as is illustrated by the story that during his recent trip to Frisco, his wife, wishing to give him the election news from Oregon, and being unable to locate him at his hotel, telegraphed four of his friends, asking each if he had spent the previous night there, and each answered "Yes."
Minnie (Mrs. Harry C.) Stoddard, "Medford's Hall of Fame," Medford Mail Tribune, December 18, 1912, page 4


    Wong, the Chinese handyman of Dr. J. F. Reddy, was struck by an auto driven by L. P. Black Thursday night, and was shaken up and frightened by his experience. Wong alighted from the streetcar and was struck by the auto coming up the hill. Black stopped the machine just as the Mongolian was hit. Dr. Porter was called, and found no broken bones.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, December 26, 1914, page 2




    MEDFORD, NOV. 4 (SPECIAL)  Dr. John Francis Reddy, former mayor of this city and pioneer leader in the development of this section, died Thursday evening at Sacred Heart Hospital following a heart attack. He would have been 67 years of age had he lived to December 3.
    The deceased came to Medford in 1903 and had the foresight to visualize the future development of the city. Although a physician, he was attracted here on a mining venture, and after seeing the possibilities for development remained here, continuing his active interests in the mining industry until he was stricken. He was mayor of Medford in 1907 and 1908, and under his administration the city acquired its first water system and first paved streets.
    In Spokane, Washington, Dr. Reddy was married in 1897 to Mary F. Cowley, who survives him. He had first come to Seattle, where he lost all he had in a fire. In Spokane he was associated with the practice of medicine with Dr. Stockton. Mining, at all times fascinating to him, however, weaned him away from the medical profession and he there entered that field, which claimed his interest until his death.
    He was president of the Southern Oregon-Northern California Mining Association, and during the World War he mined chrome for the government in Siskiyou, California.
    Dr. Reddy was also a member of the Elks Lodge, the Knights of Columbus and of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. He leaves, besides his widow, a brother, Owen F. Reddy of Eugene, Oregon,  and the following sons and daughters: Paul Reddy, Hollywood, California; Mrs. Walter Bowne, Tahiti; Dorthea Reddy, San Francisco; John F. Reddy, student at Gonzaga University; Agatha, Mary Elizabeth and Michael of Medford. He also has two nieces in Medford, Mrs. Everett Brayton and Mrs. James Murray. Another niece, Genevieve Reddy of Cleveland, is now visiting in this city. A brother, Martin J. Reddy, former well-known local jeweler, preceded him in death, as did a sister, Mrs. Mamie DeLin, also a former resident here.
    Funeral services, which will be directed by the Perl Funeral Parlors, will be announced later.
Ashland Tidings, November 4, 1933, page 2


    Oregon lost one of its most enterprising and affable citizens in the death at Medford the other day of Dr. John F. Reddy, former mayor of the city and a leading figure in Southern Oregon development for 30 years. He abandoned the practice of medicine before coming to Oregon to engage in mining and promotional work, and was responsible for many of the public improvements.
    Dr. Reddy really started the boom in Medford that gave the city nationwide fame as a fruit section He induced the Potter Palmers and many of their Chicago clique to make extensive investments. He brought about the development of the Blue Ledge and other large mining properties. He promoted the building of the Pacific & Eastern towards Klamath for the Hill lines, and also the construction of the Grants Pass-Illinois Valley railroad, headed for Crescent City, for the Twohys.
    Dr. Reddy gave to Medford its first good hotel, its first opera house, and was responsible for its first paving. A close friend of the late Sam Hill, he was a lifelong worker for good roads, and helped initiate the highway over the Siskiyous and the Crater Lake Highway. He was a born "booster," and his services were always at the call of the community.--Salem Capital Journal.
"Editorial Comment," Medford Mail Tribune, November 7, 1933, page 4




    Dr. John Francis Reddy, one of the staunchest friends and most loyal supporters of Medford and the Rogue River Valley, died last Friday at the Sacred Heart Hospital following a heart attack. Dr. Reddy was 66 years old.
    At the apex of Dr. Reddy's career he was either responsible for or active in every major development of the Rogue River Valley. A personal friend of James J. Hill, Robert Strahorn, the Harrimans and other big industrialists, Dr. Reddy held an enviable position among valley enthusiasts. It is safe to say that Dr. Reddy was better known to the railroad and mining interests of the Pacific Coast than is the Rogue River Valley itself.
    During the past few years of Dr. Reddy's colorful life, he has been a father, so to speak, of every miner in Jackson County who wanted his advice and encouragement. He gave his life and his fortune in developing the Rogue River Valley, and until his death he held the same optimistic spirit concerning the possibilities of the Rogue River Valley that he had when engineering such developments as the Pacific and Eastern Railroad and the Blue Ledge Mine. He was also responsible for the building of the railroad out of Grants Pass, which will sometime be connected to the Pacific Coast.
    It is safe to say that Dr. Reddy knew practically every prospector and miner and every paying mine in Jackson County, from the most humble "hard rocker," who with his wife sought a few grains of gold a day from some old diggings, to Robert Strahorn, who recently opened the Opp Mine employing half a hundred men. Mining, of recent years, has been Dr. Reddy's passion and his love, and, although unable to wield the pick himself, he gave encouragement and the benefit of his mining knowledge to those who could.
    Generous as few men are, Dr. Reddy, evening recent years, never hesitated to dig into his own pockets to "stake" some young and enthusiastic miner to the necessities of the trade. He has handed out five, ten and twenty-dollar bills to many, of recent years, with never a thought or worry about repayment. Mining was his passion, because he saw in mining what few people could see--a means of developing the Rogue River Valley and Jackson County into one of the richest sections of the nation. During the week of his death he was working  to make provisions for the coming of a dredge to the Applegate country.
    Dr. Reddy was once mayor of Medford, and it was under Mayor Reddy's administration that the first paving was laid in Medford. He was followed by Judge Canon, under whose administration most of Medford's streets were paved, but Dr. Reddy saw first the advantages to be gained from paved streets here.
    Dr. Reddy had the support of James J. Hill in his efforts to see a railroad built from Klamath Falls to the Pacific coast, through Medford, but the son of James J. Hill opposed the plan. The son was feted in Medford by Medford's leaders, and the railroad has never been built.
    His enthusiasm knew no bounds when he was seeking the development of something in the Rogue River Valley. He thought little of going to Denver, to New York, or to Chicago at his own expense to induce capital to come here.
    He came to Medford in 1903 from Spokane, where he had been chief of police of that city. After coming here to dispose of the Blue Ledge property, he was so taken with the valley that he stayed, and has been here since. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, his parents coming to the United States from Mayo County, on the west coast of Ireland.
    Owney Patton of this city has known Dr. Reddy since childhood, the Pattons having come from the same county.
    After disposing of the Blue Ledge Mine, Dr. Reddy leased the Nash Hotel, and Patton came down from Spokane to manage it. Patton also fell in love with the valley and is still here. Another of Dr. Reddy's activities was the development of the Queen Anne Addition of Medford, in which Attorney E. E. Kelly played no small part.
    During the past few years, Dr. Reddy has been particularly interested in the individual miners who are working on small claims, and he is largely responsible for instilling the enthusiasm into Jacksonville miners who are now mining in their back yards.
    In Spokane, Dr. Reddy was married in 1897 to Mary F. Cowley, who survives him. While in Spokane he was associated with Dr. Stockton, practicing medicine. He was a member of the Elks Lodge, the Knights of Columbus and of the Catholic Church. He leaves, besides his widow, the following sons and daughters: Paul Reddy, Hollywood; Mrs. Walter Brown, Tahiti; Dorthea Reddy, San Francisco; John F. Reddy, student at Gonzaga; Agatha, Mary Elizabeth and Michael of Medford. He also had two nieces in Medford, Mrs. Everett Brayton and Mrs. James Murray. A brother, Martin J. Reddy, former jeweler, died several years ago, as did a sister, Mrs. Mamie DeLin.
    Funeral services were held from the Sacred Heart Catholic Church here, with Father Francis W. Black conducting the Requiem high mass. Pallbearers were Dr. James C. Hayes, Larry Schady, Gus Conner, Robert Duff, Jens Jensen and John Wilkinson.
    Interment was in the Jacksonville Cemetery.
Medford News, November 10, 1933, page 1