Today would've been my dad's, Chiles T. A. Larson, 95th birthday. He was born on February 7, 1929 and passed away peacefully just shy of his 92^nd birthday, on January 22, 2021. As a professional photographer and an aspiring travel writer myself, he was and will always be my biggest inspiration and the best teacher and mentor anyone could have ever asked for. 

Over the years, Dad's work was published in The Washington Post, Mid-Atlantic Country, Historic Preservation, The New York Times, Sail, Yachting, Virginia Living, Sports Illustrated, and his alma-mater’s William & Mary Alumni Magazine, among others.

Dad's last published work, "The Highest Railway on Earth", was featured in The Virginia Sportsman magazine's January 2021 issue. Dad was a regular contributor to this magazine with his travel writing and photography. Please follow this link HERE to read. I helped him choose the photographs from his archives for this piece. It was the last project we worked on together and I'm so grateful I had that time with him. 

Dad started his career as a photojournalist at the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, in the late 1940's, while he was still a teen and throughout his early college years. His first published work with the newspaper was when he was only eleven! Dad also served in the Air Force during the Korean War, as a photojournalist. Tours of duty included the Air Pictorial and Charting Service & then the famed Fourth Fighter Interceptor Wing in Korea. While serving, dad photographed Marilyn Monroe, who came to visit the troops in February of 1954. He was in the right place, at the right time! 

Upon his return to Virginia, he was a staff photographer for Colonial Williamsburg, all while finishing his Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of William & Mary.  After graduating, he functioned as a one-man news bureau for the ABC-TV News Affiliate in Norfolk, VA. While working for them, he promoted both North Carolina and Virginia as travel destinations and places to locate new businesses.

Eventually my dad met my mother in Williamsburg, VA. They were married in Edenton, NC at St. Paul's Episcopal Church and then lived in Raleigh briefly as newlyweds. They relocated back to Virginia from there, this time landing in Richmond, several years before I came along. My oldest sister, Page, was born during that time. They then relocated to Norfolk and then my other sister, Sarah, was born, and finally me! We lived in the same neighborhood as my paternal grandparents. 

Our family relocated to Annapolis, MD, as dad accepted a position as the director of public relations for Legg Mason in Baltimore. From there, he served as the Deputy Director with The Security and Exchange Commission’s Office of Public Affairs in Washington, DC. During the times he worked for others, he never gave up his writing and photography. 

In the late 1970's Dad remarried his lovely second wife, Suzanne (Suzie). They bought a townhouse together in Alexandria and lived there for several years. In 1981 they purchased a historic property, Spring Hill Farm in Ivy, VA, and started the restoration process on the house and the beautiful gardens. Suzie was an interior designer and had impeccable taste. Dad also planted an apple orchard, where he raised Albemarle Pippins and kept several honeybee hives.

Dad commuted back and forth to DC for almost 10 years, keeping an apartment in Georgetown so he could still work up there during the week. In 1990 he retired from the SEC, moved to Ivy full time, and started a management consulting business in Charlottesville. That year, he also began working on a personal assignment over the course of 8 years for his travel photography book Virginia’s Past Today.

In 1986, I also moved to Charlottesville, VA. Around the same time Dad started his consulting business, I started my own photography business, also in 1990. The best part is that I joined him on many of his assignments as an assistant, also photographing him for his author's photo (pictured below). His book was published in 1998 and then he published a second book in 2008, Barboursville Vineyards: Crafting Great Wines Inspired by Spirits of the Past for Barboursville Vineyards in Virginia.

Dad eventually returned to Williamsburg to live, after selling the farm in Ivy in the mid 1990’s and retired from his consulting business.  Once he truly retired, he never stopped going. He volunteered for over a decade at Colonial Williamsburg’s Photographic Service Unit and exhibited his photographs at The Virginia Historical Society, The Chrysler Museum, and at The Swem Library at the College of William & Mary. Dad also taught a photography workshop at The Christopher Wren Association’s Lifetime Learning Program, for several years, and traveled often throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. 

Sadly we lost my stepmother Suzie to cancer in 2001. The following year, he rekindled a friendship with a gal he'd gone to high school with in Norfolk, VA. They never dated then, as she was dating my dad's best friend! She lost her first husband and was a widow too. At first we were all worried he was jumping into a new relationship too soon at the time. But then he brought Bernice to Charlottesville to meet me and the rest is history! I still keep in touch with her and visit her as often as I can. 

Over the years, Dad had also served on the Board of Directors at St. Luke’s Historic Church & Museum, in Smithfield, VA. It is where family and his closet friends had a Celebration of Life for him on February 7, 2021, which would've been his 92nd birthday. Sadly, it was during the pandemic so we weren't able to gather afterwards. Bernice had a local bakery make carrot cake cupcakes to take home with us. It was one of dad's favorites. As Terry & I were driving back to North Carolina after his service, just on the outskirts of Smithfield, we saw a bald eagle swooping down into a field and he looked right at me. I will never forget it.

What I am so very thankful for, is that Terry & I drove up for a long weekend a couple weeks before Christmas in 2020. It was about a month before he passed away and we spent time with Dad and Bernice and helped them decorate for Christmas. We were on the fence about it, however we decided it was important to see them. We played it safe, wore masks, and stayed in a hotel overnight. And it was mild enough for us to enjoy a nice lunch together on their patio in their garden. Dad was adamant about taking some photographs together and I am so, so glad that we did. 

Although Dad could no longer travel long distances due to mobility issues, he never gave up his writing and photography. It kept him busy and his mind sharp, he still had so many stories to tell. He was loved by so many and never met a stranger. We miss him terribly, but in my own words, I feel as if he is looking over all of us and guiding our way.  Whenever I see a bald eagle, I truly believe Dad has something to do with it. Just last Thursday, Terry and I saw two bald eagles on the beach at Tubbs Inlet in Sunset Beach, NC - an adult and a juvenile! 

Dad left a legacy of incredible photographs and manuscripts behind, which I'm still sorting through and organizing. I've found some real treasures in his collection and know that I will find more. Until then, hope all of you enjoy what I have discovered so far. I'm not going to lie. It has been a daunting task, I've shed a few tears, but it's been so incredibly rewarding. 

Happy Heavenly Birthday and Peace be with you, Dad