Maurice B. Rowe

Maurice Broaddus Rowe III (October 4, 1922 – November 26, 2014) was an American civil servant who served multiple senior roles in Virginia's state government. In 1972, Governor Linwood Holton appointed him the Commonwealth's first Secretary of Commerce and Resources after serving the previous seven years as Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Early life Maurice Broaddus Rowe III was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to Dorothy and Maurice B. Rowe Jr. His great-grandfather was Absalom P. Rowe and his grandfather was Maurice B. Rowe. He spent his early years at his family's dairy and livestock farm at Brompton. He graduated from James Monroe High School in 1941. He attended Virginia Tech and participated in the Cadet Corps there until 1943 when he entered military service. After World War II, he returned and graduated from Virginia Tech in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education. They had two children, Caroline and Maurice B. IV. He was a member of Forest Hill Presbyterian Church and became an elder in 1964. He lived in Richmond.

Rowe died on November 26, 2014. He was buried at Westhampton Memorial Park in Richmond.

Awards Rowe received the Public Business Administrator of the Year from the Virginia Chapter, American Society of Public Business Administrators in 1974.