James (Jed) Duvall Parent, Veteran, Journalist, War Correspondent, Rappahannock County Democratic Chair 1937-2022

JedDuvall – husband, father, grandfather, greatgrandfather, journalist and storyteller – died on Tuesday, October 5th in Charlottesville, Virginia, as a result of complications following surgery. He was 85 years old.

Jed graduated from Duke University in 1959 and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for two years before settling in Baltimore. It was there that he took a job at a radio station and met his wife to be, Jill Donovan. The two were married in 1960 and raised four children.

Jed worked as an on-air reporter for WBALTV before becoming an assignment editor for CBS News. In 1970-71 he was based in the CBS News Saigon bureau and covered the Vietnam War, including combat in Laos and Cambodia. He was later assigned to the CBS Atlanta bureau as a correspondent, covering wars, natural disasters and the campaigns of Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Walter Mondale. He later covered the Reagan White House, and was chosen for the coveted role of cover story reporter on CBS Sunday Morning.

In 1983, Duvall was hired by ABC News as a Nightline correspondent. In 1987, he was named a co-anchor of World News This Morning and the Washington-based news anchor for Good Morning America. This would be his last major assignment at ABC News and his final substantive role in a decades-long broadcast news career.

Through the years, Duvall’s work was acknowledged numerous times by his peers with awards, trophies and plaques. But it was the friendships he made, and the stories he told, along the way that he cherished. Duvall was quick to laugh, insatiably curious, and a voracious reader. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Jill, his four children, five grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren. A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later date.