Press "Enter" to skip to content

JOHN ANTHONY HANNOLD

hn Anthony Hannold (Tony), aged 88 years, passed away peacefully on April 15, 2022 at Cedarfield Retirement Community in Richmond, Va.

Tony was born on May 26, 1933 in Abington, Pa., the son of John and Mabel Hannold. He graduated from the College of William and Mary, where he met his wife, Judy. He and Judy enjoyed 67 years of marriage together.

After serving in the U.S. Army and retiring as a captain, Tony worked briefly in the insurance industry before embarking on a long career developing and managing short line railroads. He purchased his first, the Narragansett Pier Railroad, in 1965. After selling the six-mile-long Rhode Island line, he went on to manage the Bath and Hammondsport Railroad in upstate New York and to create and operate the Maryland and Delaware and the Virginia and Maryland Railroads, which ran along the Eastern Shore. In 1986, he developed the 155-mile-long Arkansas and Missouri Railroad, which runs from Monett, Missouri to Fort Smith, Arkansas.

In 1998, Tony and Judy retired to Mathews County, Va. There, accompanied by Judy and a bevy of rescue dogs, he enjoyed boating, landscaping, and model railroading. In 2013 he and Judy relocated to Cedarfield.

Tony’s generosity and deep concern for people and animals in need colored his whole life as did saving and restoring antiquities. Over the years, he restored several houses, a train station, two railroad coaches, a sailboat, two motor yachts, and numerous pieces of furniture.

Tony is survived by his beloved wife, Judith Suber Hannold; his children, Andrea Hannold Lopez (J.M. Lopez), Elizabeth Hannold (Douglass Delano), and Randy Hannold; and his grandsons, Marion Delano, William Delano, and Jacob Lopez.
A memorial service to celebrate Tony’s life will be held on Thursday, May 19, 2022, at 2 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall at Cedarfield, 2300 Cedarfield Parkway, Richmond. All are invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Tony and Judy Hannold Fund to Alleviate Poverty in Mathews County. Donations by check may be made out to Mathews County Community Foundation and mailed to P.O. Box 1037, Mathews, Va. 23109 or made online at www.mathewscf.org.