Richard Edgar Landreth

He was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on August 26, 1946, the first child of Edgar Downs Landreth, Jr. and Carmen J. (Soresi) Landreth. Growing up, his father’s career in the garment manufacturing industry led to the family living in many of the eastern states, and Richard attending several different schools. Upon his graduation from Jacksonville University in 1970 with a B.S. in business, Richard decided to follow in his father’s footsteps as an Industrial Engineer in the garment industry, adding several more states to the roster.

With the domestic garment industry facing strong headwinds in the early 80’s, Richard changed careers and began working at Arizona State University (ASU), eventually becoming the Director of Parking and Transit for ASU. There he managed a full-time staff of 42, as well as 100 part-time employees. He was responsible for all parking functions (football, special events, enforcement, and visitor parking – including when Pope John Paul II held a mass in Sun Devil Stadium in 1987). He truly enjoyed trying to squeeze 48,000 faculty, staff, and students into 18,000 parking spaces while keeping everyone happy! In 1989, he joined American Express and worked in their Phoenix operations facility. In 1990 he was transferred to their New York headquarters to work in Finance and Marketing, where he helped to manage the American Express relationship with Fortune 500 companies such as Tiffany’s, Nordstrom, Macy’s, and The Gap. In 1996 he transferred to Miami Lakes, FL where he provided sales support and financial oversight for an American Express division operating in the Caribbean and South America before retiring in 2005.

Richard and his wife Gail moved to Swoope in 2004, where Richard soon took up his pursuit of enjoying retirement fully. During his early retirement years, he discovered wood turning, and subsequently served four years as Treasurer for the Central Virginia Woodturners, and four years as President of the Virginia Woodturner’s Symposium board. He also coordinated the “Trout in the Classroom” program across the state of Virginia under the auspices of Trout Unlimited and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Until severe bouts of illness impacted his health, his other interests were fly tying; salmon and trout fishing; puttering around his property in Swoope – primarily adding new gardens and planting beds; collecting and setting up model trains; traveling abroad with his wife Gail (ultimately seeing 30+ countries, including many repeat visits to Scotland); reading cookbooks and trying out new recipes; collecting interesting watches and fountain pens; and spending time with his wife and family.

Richard is survived by Gail Dunn, his wife of 34 years; four children, Ross Landreth of Lakeland, FL; Matthew Landreth and wife Amy of Overland Park, KS; Trace Landreth of San Antonio, TX; Channing Warren and husband Colby of Danville, VA; and six grandchildren, Maddie Fields and husband Shane, Tess Landreth, Shepard Landreth, Arden Landreth, James Warren and Asher Warren; as well as by numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom he enjoyed spending time with. He is also survived by his younger sister Cynthia Ronchetti and husband Joe of Atlanta, GA, and younger brother William Landreth and wife Rita, of Loudon, TN.

The family wishes to acknowledge the exceptional care and support they have received from Dr. Rob Marsh and his staff at Middlebrook and Raphine. Their efforts allowed Richard and Gail to enjoy their travels and time together well beyond normal medical projections. They also wish to thank the dedicated nurses and support staff associated with the Hospice of the Shenandoah, especially Teresa Sorrells and Lauren Keys, who brightened Richard’s days during their home visits.

A memorial service will be conducted at 2:00 PM on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Staunton, VA with the Reverends William “A.J.” Heine and Paul Nancarrow officiating. A reception in the parish hall will follow.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, people make donations to the Trinity Church Honduras mission (P.O. Box 208, Staunton, VA 24402), the Hospice of the Shenandoah (P.O. Box 1000, Fishersville, VA 22939), or the Rockingham SPCA (PO Box 413, Harrisonburg, VA 22803).