Douglas Lee Cone

Doug was born on March 25, 1955, in Richmond, VA to the late Laura Mae Lee Cone and Raymond Douglas Cone, Jr. He grew up and spent his early life in Glen Allen, VA with his parents and two younger brothers, Donald and Dale. Doug married his wife Anita Marie (Ware) in 1978 and lived in Henrico where they welcomed their two children into the world, Christopher (Chris) Lee and Brandi Marie. They moved in 1989 to Montpelier in Hanover County, VA where he built a house, and they made a home.

Doug was an industrious man and a hard worker. For almost 40 years, he owned and ran his millwork business, Architectural Custom Woodwork, designing and leading teams to craft and provide embellishments for the homes and businesses of thousands of customers in Virginia and the surrounding area.

Around the house, Doug loved to work and play in the woods. Felling trees, sculpting paths and roads or clearing the underbrush with his tractors and equipment, a project to help a neighbor, conducting seasonal controlled burns or lighting up “the pit”, and working on the next added feature on the property were some of the items always on the handwritten to-do list found in the front pocket of his shirt.

Doug held a devout reverence and appreciation for nature. He savored his time outside, in the quiet of the woods, and paddling his canoe on the creek. It was there that he best connected with the godly parts of the world, and himself.

As an avid adventurer, Doug’s real passion in life was scuba diving and being at sea; and had a saying about it: “Saltwater cures everything.” As a divemaster, he started scuba diving in the late 1970s when it was a rugged form of adventure and trophies were waiting to be found after being lost to the deep for decades or even centuries. Doug dived in almost every ocean and sea there is, with thousands of hours of down-time and hundreds of thousands of miles of travel to prove it. Wreck diving however was the best there was to him. In recent years, he started a second business as a trip planner and host, leading groups of divers and travelers around the world to exciting locations for weeks-long adventures. In that endeavor, he fulfilled a lifelong dream of his own to dive key sites from the Pacific Theater of WWII.

Diving was not the only inspiration for travel though. Seeing historical monuments and architecture, experiencing other cultures, and observing new natural scenery and creatures around the world was always on the horizon. Wherever his travels took him, new friends were always made along the way.

Doug is survived by his wife Anita; His son Chris and his wife Allie with their two daughters Camryn and Rylee; His daughter Brandi and her husband Jeff with their two daughters Adelyn and Chloe; His brother Donald and his wife Siobhan with their two daughters Hannah and Rachel; His brother Dale and his wife Sharon with their four children Matthew, Mitchel, Michael and Annelise. Doug is also survived by perhaps hundreds of other close relatives and friends whom he cared for greatly, and all will miss him deeply.

A service will be held at Woody Funeral Home located at 1771 N Parham Rd, Richmond, VA 23229 on July 25, 2026, at 11:00 AM (EDT). A reception will follow at the family’s home.