Lives Well Lived

Remembering notable Richmonders we lost in 2022

This article has been updated since it first appeared in print.

James ‘Jay’ J.L. Stegmaier

(Jan. 20)

Jay Stegmaier started his career with Chesterfield County in 1979 as a budget analyst, then rose through the ranks to become county administrator in 2007 — at the beginning of the subprime mortgage meltdown and the Great Recession. During his nine years as administrator, Stegmaier helped the county navigate shrinking budgets and revenue shortfalls, solidifying Chesterfield’s reputation as the region’s standard-bearer of fiscal prudence. After long-term treatment for cancer, Stegmaier, 68, died on Jan. 20.

Floyd Gottwald Jr.

(Jan. 27)

Floyd Gottwald Jr. rose to prominent business leadership positions beginning with the Albemarle Paper Manufacturing Corp., ultimately run by his father, which later became the Richmond-based international fuel-additive firm Ethyl Corp. He also served on boards of cultural groups, including as president for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and as a director on a range of enterprises from CSX Corp. to the Federal Reserve Bank. An enthusiast of the outdoors, he once observed that he was born to fish, but needed to work. He died at age 99 on Jan. 27.

Rodney Lofton

(March. 14)

Rodney Lofton was an LGBTQ+ rights advocate, a champion of HIV awareness and an outspoken promoter of equity and inclusion, but there’s one word that perhaps best describes him: friend. He was often found at community events, organized meetings and sometimes just chatted along the streets with individuals, especially in marginalized areas. He was the former deputy director of Diversity Richmond and spearheaded the Black and Bold Awards recognizing Black LGBTQ+ accomplishments. Lofton’s tireless work to encourage civic engagement left Richmond a better place. He died at age 53 from lung cancer.

Joseph Ignatius Creegan

(March 27)

For years to come, hat wearers will carry their Ignatius creations into the world, his name spoken and a story told when the query is made about their provenance. The hats made their way into theater, opera, television and film. Rocker Steven Tyler got an Ignatius, as did many others who wore the hats as part of their personal style. Creegan and his partner, Rod Givens, lived and worked in Petersburg. In 2018, Creegan received a brain tumor diagnosis. Surgery and treatments put the cancer in remission for more than two years until its resurgence. Creegan was 61.

Carla Jonah Holland

(Aug. 13)

Carla “Jonah” Holland, 49, was struck by a vehicle while riding her bike on Osborne Turnpike. She had worked as the social media and digital content manager for Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden for years. A well-known member of the Richmond Triathlon Club, Richmond Area Bicycling Association, Wolfpack Alpha Cycling and open water swimming groups, Holland welcomed newcomers to these pursuits with her inclusive spirit. “Jonah Holland loved fiercely and valued kindness as a spiritual practice,” her obituary read.

Riddick Parker

(Aug. 19)

A former professional football player who became a leader in the field of education, Riddick Parker served as an assistant principal at Armstrong High School and was named the principal of George Wythe High School in 2021. Parker, 49, died on Aug. 19, after collapsing following a bike ride near his Chesterfield home. His welcoming message to the school’s students and staff regarding the upcoming year, posted on the school’s website, has become more poignant: “May we all be present for the joy of learning, the satisfaction of a job well done, and the comfort that comes from belonging to a community.”

Wes Freed

(Sept. 4)

Well known in Richmond for the numerous bands he played in over the years, as well as album covers and posters designed for those same groups and others, artist and musician Wes Freed gained a national profile through his collaboration with the Southern-fried rock band Drive-By Truckers, which adopted Freed’s artwork for merch, 11 album covers and concert posters. Freed, 58, settled in the Richmond region after attending Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating in 1987 after studying sculpture and printmaking. Thirty-five years of boundless creativity followed.

John Moeser

(Oct. 17)

A Texas native, John Moeser co-founded Virginia Commonwealth University’s influential Department of Urban Studies and Planning, where he taught for 35 years, and then added another dozen years of inspiration at the University of Richmond’s Bonner Center for Civic Engagement. “Moeser loved this city and region and was desperate to see long-overdue change come to fruition,” observed colleagues writing in tribute for this publication. He “offered a model of how to live — a model relevant not only for scholars, but for all of us.” He died at age 79 following an illness.

Donald McEachin

(Nov. 28)

Donald McEachin, a pivotal figure in Richmond-area politics, served in the General Assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives over a three-decade career. He won a third term in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District in November. “Don was a fighter,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “He fought for justice, for civil rights, and for communities that are often left behind. ... Through it all, Don always fought for the working people of Virginia. He never quit in his pursuit of justice.” Open about his years of treatment for colorectal cancer, McEachin died on Nov. 28 at 61. He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin, as well as their three children and a grandson.

Virginia ‘Jinks’ Holton

(Dec. 16)

Virginia “Jinks” Rogers Holton, wife to one governor and mother-in-law to another, died Dec. 16 at 97. Her husband of 67 years, former Gov. A. Linwood Holton Jr., died in October 2021. In a statement issued through the office of her husband, Sen. Tim Kaine, Anne Holton and her three siblings said, “Mom was a partner in what she and Dad forged into the family business: racial justice and civil rights for all Virginians. She and Dad together decided, when he was Governor, that our family would help integrate Virginia’s public schools, tearing down barriers to employment, and opening opportunities for all.”