Obituary of Ashby Sydnor

Ashby Kendall Sydnor, 97, died in Lynchburg on Saturday, August 4, 2012 . He was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, which he joined in 1925 and where he later served as a deacon. For more than fifty years he was associated with Virginia Dunbrik Co., (Lynchburg Block) and retired as its president. The seventh of Clement Adkisson Sydnor and Rochette Venable Raine Sydnor?s twelve children, he was born June 18, 1915, in Williamsburg, Va., where his father was a teacher and school administrator. The family moved to Lynchburg in 1918 and Kendall graduated from E.C. Glass High School in 1934. He attended Lynchburg College. From 1937-40, he was editor of the Mecklenburg Times weekly newspaper in Clarksville, Va., where he met his future wife, Grace Allen Pittard. During World War II he served in the Pacific with the U.S. Navy?s 59th Construction Battalion (Seabees) and participated in the liberation of Guam. After being honorably discharged, he returned to work at Virginia Dunbrik Co.-Lynchburg Block. With the help of loyal workers he guided the company?s growth so that it became a major supplier of masonry products in the area. He was noted as an innovator in materials handling and autoclave curing of concrete block. Additionally, he had interests in construction aggregates and expanded lightweight aggregate manufacture. Mr. Sydnor was a founding member of the Virginia Concrete Masonry Association. At the height of his career he was listed in two Marquis Publications, Who?s Who in Commerce and Industry and Who?s Who in the South and Southeast. He was an active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, an early supporter of Liberty University, and a loyal alumnus of Lynchburg College. Mr. Sydnor is survived by his wife of 71 years, Grace Pittard Sydnor; his son, Ashby Kendall Sydnor, Jr. and wife Katherine Baker Sydnor of Forest; two daughters, Grace Granville Sydnor Hill and husband, Fred E. Hill, of Pittsboro, NC; Judith Sims Sydnor McNeel and husband, Douglas V. McNeel, of Helotes, TX. Also surviving are five grandchildren and their spouses and three great-granddaughters. Memorial contributions may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1022 Floyd St., Lynchburg, VA 24502 or Lynchburg College, 1501 Lakeside Dr., Lynchburg, VA 24501. A memorial service will be held Monday, August 6, 2012, at11:00 AM at Westminster Presbyterian Church with the Rev. William D. Russell officiating. Interment arrangements will be announced at the memorial service. Diuguid Funeral Service-Wiggington Road Chapel, 385-8900, is serving the family .