WARSAW, Va. — Charles Hill Ryland, a former president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia with deep roots in Virginia Baptist life, died Oct. 22 at age 95.
Ryland, a longtime member of Warsaw Baptist Church, was BGAV president in 1963.
Most of his youth was spent on the campus of the University of Richmond, where his father, Garnett Ryland, was a longtime chemistry professor. His great-great-uncle, Robert Ryland, was the first president of Richmond College. His grandfather, Charles Hill Ryland, was treasurer and librarian of the college. The younger Ryland graduated from the college in 1936 and from its T.C. Williams Law School in 1939. He served from 1961-86 as a trustee of UR and was a trustee emeritus at the time of his death.
He was on the board of trustees of the Baptist Ministers’ Relief Fund from 1948-2000, serving as president from 1960-2000. He also was a longtime supporter of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society, which his grandfather helped to establish.
Ryland was predeceased by this wife, Betsey. He is survived by six children.
A memorial service was held on Oct. 31 at Warsaw Baptist Church, where he taught the Men’s Bible Class for 40 years. Burial was at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.