Dr. Bledsoe owned and operated the Beckley Drug Store, served as president of the WV Board of Pharmacy and was a 54-year member of the Board of Beckley National Bank. He was married to the former Wanda Knopp Campbell. Their daughter, Phoebe Bledsoe Tieche Herring, was one of the original incorporators of BAF; she joined her sister Mrs. Thomas (Margaret) Stafford and Beckley National Bank in setting up this endowment fund. Income was previously used for scholarships in the health and science fields at MSU. It now benefits this same field of study at University of Charleston-Beckley.