WASHINGTON John A. Giddens, who was the accountant and bookkeeper of the United Motorcoach Association for 35 years, died late last month.

Mr. Giddens went to work for the association in 1971, shortly after it was founded. He was the first employee hired by the associations long-time executive director, Wayne J. Smith.

He had held a number of accounting positions with financial institutions and non-profit organizations before joining the United Bus Owners of America (which became the United Motorcoach Association more than a decade ago).

During his years at UMA he maintained the organizations financial records until last November when he could no longer handle the daily commute to Alexandria, Va., where the association has its headquarters.

"John worked tirelessly in managing our finances," said UMA President and CEO Victor Parra. "If his month-end statements were off by a dime, he would search and search until he found the cause of the variance. He didnt -- and wouldnt -- write off a penny.

"I remember the first day I arrived at UMA in 1998, I introduced myself to John and asked him if I could take a look at the books. That produced a big smile as we went down to the bottom draw in a filling cabinet and pull out a large green, hand-written ledger dating back to 1971.

"He then asked with that same big smile, How far back to you want to go? Needless to say, he could track every dime we spent from our very beginning," said Parra.

Annette Ott, who worked with Mr. Giddens for 13 years on the UMA staff, said he was both a hard worker and a caring individual.

Mr. Giddens was a native of the Washington area, and studied to be a court stenographer before switching to accountancy. He was an avid political observer and relished discussing political issues and politicians.

He is survived by a brother and a sister.