David A. Tolley

TOLLEY, David A., For those of my Richmond area friends and acquaintances who may be interested, I, TOLLEY, DAVE (David A.), luckily married for 49 years to the beautiful Beth (also known as Julia Elizabeth High Tolley) left my earthly home for parts unknown on April 28, 2021. (Really love to see the lawyers' reactions to all those names when executing legal documents.) As is the traditionally expected path, I was preceded in death by both of my parents, Velmer and Helen Tolley of Huntington, W.Va. Unexpectedly, I was also preceded in death by my son, Craig Stewart Tolley. I am survived by my awesome wife, Beth; my son, Scott A. Tolley (whose successes I am so proud of); and two loving granddaughters, Samantha Rose and Denise Monica Tolley of Mechanicsville, Va. Other survivors include my oh so gentle sister, Jean Tolley Brumfield (Dale) of Dale City, Va.; my almost clone and very close brother, Michael E. Tolley (Pam) of Jacksonville, Fla.; sister-in-law, Ginny High Brislin (John) of Louisville, Ky.; brother-in-law, Dave High (Ida) of Jane Lew, W.Va.; and numerous nephews, nieces and cousins. Last, but far from least, I am survived my most inspiring mother-in-law, Gussie Stewart High of South Charleston, W.Va. – 92 years of age, who would have thought.

I was born July 2, 1949 in Huntington, W.Va., where I lived an ideal childhood of playing outdoors all hours of the day, and some of the night, in a neighborhood of many kids, going to elementary, junior high and high schools within walking distance, playing PeeWee, Little League and Babe Ruth baseball and junior high and high school sports. I especially loved the years spent in track as a pole vaulter. Not much beats the free feel of soaring into the air and drifting back to the ground, although the landings were sometimes not so gentle. In 1971, I graduated from Marshall University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Accounting (I bleed green and will always remember the 75, one team member was a childhood neighbor and others were track teammates) and started the next phase of life – a work career. That lasted for a year until July 1972, when, after marrying aforementioned awesome Beth, I transitioned with her to Richmond, Va., where she continued her education to become a physical therapist.

Once in Richmond, we settled into nearby Henrico where we have remained for the past 49 years. While Beth continued her education, I worked as an Internal Auditor for Blue Cross/Shield of Virginia. Beth graduated in 1974 and went to work as a physical therapist at Children's Hospital and that same year I went to work in the Internal Auditing Department of Reynold Metals, where I worked in several positions over the next 26 years. Following the ALCOA merger in 2000, I worked in several part-time and temporary auditing jobs and spent time volunteering with the local chapter of the American Red Cross. After a triple by-pass in 2006 I declared myself officially retired and started the easy life, enjoying working on many projects in and around the house, developing a large flower garden in the yard, going overboard on the outdoor Halloween and Christmas decorations, camping, kayaking and long-distance riding on my elliptigo bike (watch out for drivers who don't understand the concept of right-of-way), vacations to the beach and special trips to Costa Rica and Hawaii. Altogether, a most wonderful life lived with the most awesome loved ones.

My body will be cremated. In place of a formal memorial service, my family will receive guests casually on Sunday, May 9, 2021 between 12 noon and 2 p.m. at the picnic shelter at Cheswick Park, 1700 Forest Avenue, Henrico, Va. 23229. In lieu of flowers, I would request that donations be made to FEEDMORE, 1415 Rhoadmiller Street, Richmond, Va. 23220, Skipwith United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 32104, Richmond, Va. 23294 or the charity of your choice.

P.S. Perhaps my spirit will find the way back to West Virginia. After all, that's "ALMOST HEAVEN."