Robert MinnickRobert Wood Mniick Jr. (BJ) was born in Plainfield Union, New Jersey. In 1955 BJ joined the United States Navy and became a Naval Intelligence operative (CT3), serving two two-year tours of duty on the island of Guam and in North Africa. Following hi two tours in the Navy, in 1964 BJ graduated from Florida State University's School of Business with a bachelor's degree in business and finance. BJ enjoyed a lucrative career in Florida commercial banking, moving up the ladder to the top very quickly. He served as vice president of the Pan American Bank, N.A., in Miami; executive vice president of the Citizens National Bank in Orlando; and president of the Guaranty National Bank in Tallahassee. BJ retired from commercial banking in the late 1990s and created a consulting firm designed to assist the different kinds of financial institutions then undergoing the financial upheavals of that era. He continued consulting into his mid-seventies.BJ had a passion for sport fishing. He enjoyed fishing in deep waters, trolling for game fish in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Fort Lauderdale and in the Gulf of Mexico. His secret dream-expressed only to close family-was to move to the Florida Keys and operate a small charter boat business catering to Wall Street bankers and others who loved deep sea fishing. BJ met Mary Alice Leonard while they were attending FSU. They were married in 1964 in Blountstown, Florida, and celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 2014. BJ and Mary Alice had two children: Mary Louise Minnick (Mimi) and John Alexander Minnick. Mimi and John and their children still reside in north Florida-close enough to the Gulf Coast to enjoy the salt air smell and the snow-white sand beaches. BJ began working on his Cold War memoirs with his cousin, Lindy Minnick, in 2016, continuing until his death in Blountstown in 2018. Read More Read Less