Virgil Wallace "Wally" Ryland, II's Obituary
Long time Northern Virginia and North Texas resident Virgil Wallace “Wally” Ryland II, 77, of Plano, TX passed away peacefully at his home on July 6, 2012 surrounded by his family. He was born June 6, 1935 in Washington, DC to Virgil Wallace and Nadine Ryland and grew up in Arlington, VA. He was an exceptional athlete and graduated from Washington and Lee High School in 1953. He received athletic scholarships from many universities for football, basketball and baseball before selecting American University where he was a 1957 graduate with a BS in Communications. While at AU he captained both the baseball and basketball teams for the Eagles, was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity and worked at the university’s radio station, WAMU-AM. Upon graduation, with offers to play professional football, basketball and baseball, he signed with the Washington Senators Organization where he had a “cup of coffee” before entering the insurance business. He first started his insurance career with the Aetna and later joined Lindgren and Lupton, a local insurance agency where he ultimately became a partner and president of Lindgren, Lupton and Ryland. The firm was acquired in 1971 by Fred S James Insurance and he headed their Maryland and Virginia operations. He moved to Houston in 1981 to become chairman of Fred S. James of Texas. In 1986 Sedgwick of London purchased Fred S. James and appointed Wally as president of their worldwide Construction Services Division headquartered in Dallas. During his tenure at Fred S. James and Sedgwick he worked with both public and private interests placing and administrating large Owner Controlled Insurance Programs (OCIP’s) with costs that normally exceeded $500 million to $1 Billion. A few of his many clients were the subway construction projects for BART in San Francisco and the LAMTA in Los Angeles, Walt Disney in Orlando, FL, Reagan National Airport, the BMW plant in South Carolina, the Channel Tunnel between England and France and the American Embassy in Moscow. He was well known in Lloyd’s of London as a leader in the US Construction Insurance market and was often referred to by many there as the “King of OCIP’s.” Upon his retirement in 1997 from Sedgwick, finishing a forty year contiguous career with the same firm throughout the various acquisitions, he relocated to Ruidoso, NM in 1997 where he was an active member of the community until moving back to Plano, Texas in 2005 for health reasons. In addition to being a charter member of Memorial Baptist Church in Arlington, VA as a young man he was an active coach and referee to a number of area youth sport teams. He also served on The Virginia State Insurance Board, the American Public Transit Association Board of Governors, Washington-Lee Savings and Loan Board of Directors, the Coffee Butler Services Board of Directors and at one point the treasurer of Joel Broyhill’s congressional campaign committee. He was a member of the Arlington Optimist Club where he led their youth sports philathropy, The Arlington Better Sports Club, The Touchdown Club of Washington, DC, The Palm Bay Club of Miami, FL and the White Elephant Club in London, England. Wally was an active golfer and served in many capacities as either a committee chairman or on the board as a member of the Fairfax Golf and Country Club in Fairfax, VA, Washington Golf and Country Club in Arlington, VA, the Dunes Club of Myrtle Beach, SC, Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, TX and Alto Lakes Country Club in Ruidoso, NM. In 2002, the Clyde’s Restaurant Group made him part of their advertising campaign series as a worldwide connoisseur of fine food supporting the restaurant chain located in the Washington, DC area. Wally spent his life loving sports, he was an avid and loyal Washington Redskin’s fan buying his first season tickets in 1957 and holding them for the past 55 years. He also boasted of being the longest tenured Texas Ranger fan of 51 years having supported both incarnations of the Washington Senator’s and subsequently the Ranger’s franchise upon their move to Texas in 1971. Wally was a great gin player as his friends would attest to from various Men’s Grills across the Country and in his later years especially enjoyed his time playing with his friends at Gleneagles. He was preceded in death by his Father and Mother as well as his Grandson Jackson Cochran. He is survived by his wife Casey of Plano, TX and six children Steffani Cochran, Virgil Wallace III and Hillary Ryland, Steve and Helen Cochran, Stacey and DeAnna Cochran, Richard and Jennifer Ryland, Charles and Wendi Ryland seven grandchildren Raymond Sanchez, Reese Ryland, Christian Cochran, Virgil Wallace Ryland IV, Hannah Ryland, Megan Ryland and Jack Ryland. With regard to services, his family will be holding a visitation on Monday July 9th, 2012 from 5:00 PM – 8:00PM at Restland Funeral Home and Cemetery located at 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75243. A formal memorial service will be held in Restland’s Memorial Chapel on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at 12:30 PM followed by a brief graveside service. In lieu of flowers please send donations to Parkway Hills Baptist Church, 2700 Dallas Parkway, Plano TX, 75093 in honor of Wally Ryland, which will go to support the Boys and Girls Club.
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