Richard Lyon Stinson (1938 – 2026)

Richard Lyon Stinson, who had served in the Stonewall Brigade of the Virginia National Guard,  died 5 January 2026 at his Fairfax, Virginia, home, with his wife, the former Anne Melanie Freudenberg, and family attending.

Richard Lyon Stinson

Richard and Anne had recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. They had lived in northern Warren County for a decade before moving to Fairfax in 2024.

Ordained a priest in 1963, Richard was commissioned as a Chaplain in the United States Army in 1967. Following the Chaplain Officer Basic Course, where he was the Honor Graduate, he served at Fort Eustis (Newport News, Virginia); in the Republic of Vietnam as Chaplain of the 3rd Battalion, 47th U. S. Infantry, 9th Division; and at Fort Belvoir (Alexandria, Virginia).

Returning to the civilian ministry in 1970, Chaplain Stinson joined the Virginia Army National Guard, where he rose to the rank of Colonel, serving with the 116th “Stonewall” Brigade of the 29th Infantry Division (Light) and the Virginia State Area Command. On Chaplain Stinson’s 1991 retirement from the National Guard and his final assignment as the Virginia State Chaplain, he was commissioned as a Brigadier General in the Chaplain Corps of the Virginia Militia.

His military decorations include the Legion of Merit (US & VA), two Bronze Star Medals, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and Technical Service Medal (RVN). He also holds the American Red Cross “Award of Merit for Life Saving” for actions in Vietnam.

Prior to his service in the U.S. Army, Richard served the United States as a Marine Corps reservist, an Air Force officer candidate, and an Ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Dr. Stinson was the Rector of the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. On retiring from the Chapel in 1999, he was elected Rector Emeritus. Prior to moving to Pennsylvania, Father Stinson’s civilian ministries included Saint James Church (Mount Vernon, Virginia), Good Shepherd Mission in Navajoland (Fort Defiance, Arizona), and Saint Luke’s Church (Hope, New Jersey).

At his death, Chaplain Stinson was the oldest licensed Emergency Medical Technician in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As a resident of Warren County, he volunteered with the Warren County Fire and Rescue Services and at Station 10. He had been a first-aid and CPR instructor for more than six decades and was a licensed amateur radio operator, operating as KB3KBC. Richard was an amateur geologist and an avid birder. He died on National Bird Day.

Chaplain Stinson served as a volunteer Police Chaplain for more than three decades, most notably with the Fairfax County Police Department, from which he received recognition for “Superior Community Service in the Interest of Public Safety.” He participated in the successful 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march, joining tens of thousands of other protesters in demanding voting rights for all Americans. He was active in several Masonic organizations. During a sabbatical from parish ministry, he volunteered at the Shenandoah National Park.

Richard earned a Doctor of Ministry from Howard University (Washington, District of Columbia). A long-time practitioner of contemplative prayer, his dissertation was “Retreats and Renewal from an Anglican Perspective, with Special Reference to the Works of R. G. Coulson.” At the University of the South (Sewanee, Tennessee) he earned a Master of Sacred Theology; his thesis was “Contemporary Anglican Devotion.” Richard also earned a Master of Divinity from the Episcopal Theological School (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Hobart College (Geneva, New York). He graduated from The Morristown School (Morristown, New Jersey) in 1956.

Richard was born in New York City on 22 April 1938 to Doris Lyon and Dwight Elliot Stinson.

Chaplain Stinson’s remains will be interred at Quantico National Cemetery sometime later in 2026.

In honor of Richard’s life and work, please make donations to any of the churches Father Stinson served, to the educational institutions he attended, or The Lamb Center in Fairfax, Virginia.