When Ed Tinsley looks back on nearly five decades in uniform, it’s with a sense of purpose, humility and a touch of dry humor.
“I’m the longest serving trooper in the history of the department,” he said in an interview shortly before his death.
Col. Matthew D. Hanley, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, said the entire Virginia State Police family is saddened by the loss of Tinsley.
“Master Trooper Tinsley was a legend at VSP and highly regarded in the law enforcement community across the commonwealth,” Hanley said. “He served as a mentor to numerous members of the department during his 48-year career and his influence will be felt for years to come.”
Born in Bedford County in 1937, Tinsley was raised in the small community of Goode, where his family had worked for generations on the railroad. After graduating from New London High School in 1955, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He served for 3 1/2 years and returned home with a plan, one that was almost derailed by a job offer from General Electric.
Editor's NoteThe Lynchburg News & Advance reporter Rachael Smith spoke with retired Virginia state trooper Ed Tinsley on June 9 for a feature article. He died on June 26.
“I had applications in at GE and with the state police,” he said. “I was working part-time at the Oldsmobile place in Lynchburg and the manager said, ‘If you don’t take that test for trooper, you’ll always wonder.’”
Tinsley took the test, passed and reported to the State Police Academy in 1959. He never looked back.
“It was like a religious moment for me,” he said. “I knew I was where I belonged.”
Over the next 48 years, Tinsley would witness, and play a role in, some of Virginia’s most turbulent and defining moments. Early in his career, he was assigned to Richmond, but he soon transferred to Amherst County. That’s where he remained for the rest of his service.
His early years on the force coincided with the Civil Rights Movement and anti-war demonstrations.
“I went on just about every special assignment we had,” he said. “Racial demonstrations, anti-war protests … you name it.”
Tinsley recalled seeing Martin Luther King Jr. at several peaceful demonstrations and even speaking with him and shaking his hand.
“Up until the day after he was killed, the protests were peaceful, just like he preached,” he said. “But after that, everything changed.”
He also witnessed the sometimes-overlooked challenges of enforcement.
“I saw people cussing and spitting on service members during the anti-war protests. They were just doing the job they were told to do. Nobody was protesting the hierarchy.”
One of the most harrowing moments of his career came in 1969, when the remnants of Hurricane Camille ravaged Nelson County. Tinsley was dispatched the morning after, unaware of the devastation.
“I spent the next 27 days up there,” he said. “It was like something out of a nightmare. The surge that came down Davis Creek was 65 feet high.”
He assisted with body recovery and worked closely with medical examiners.
“We had 126 reported missing, 38 never found and eight we found but couldn’t identify,” he said. “I’ve done over 75 presentations on Camille since then. I think it’s important people remember what happened.”
Tinsley also played a significant role in building out Virginia’s crime data reporting infrastructure. In the 1970s, he was selected as one of the original troopers to implement the uniform crime reporting, or UCR, system. He was responsible for 19 counties and 130 criminal justice agencies.
“That was nearly 20 years of my career,” he said. “We were the ones helping agencies submit their reports accurately. It mattered because those numbers determined how much funding a locality could receive.”
Though officially retired since 2007, Tinsley has remained active in his community. He’s volunteered with the Lynchburg Museum System, built accessibility ramps, served on the historic New London school’s alumni board and helped with events such as the Exchange Club’s Pancake Jamboree.
“I probably cooked some sausage for you,” he laughed.
He was also known for dressing up as the Easter bunny and Santa Claus for events held by the museum.
Former Lynchburg Museum Director Doug Harvey said Tinsley had been a volunteer since at least 2005 and was the most dedicated volunteer he’d had in 36 years working in museums.
“And it’s not just saying, ‘Hey, look, I’ve done this,’ I enjoyed doing it. It was fun. I love having things to do,” Tinsley said.
He also volunteered with the Lynchburg Elks Lodge and helped to build a new lodge and would work bingo nights for 44 years.
For decades, Tinsley also handcrafted wooden benches — 441 of them — giving most away to friends and neighbors.
He built his own house on 40 acres in Elon after he and wife, Edna, purchased an 8-acre lot in 1967.
“It was just something I loved to do,” he said. “I built my own house too, using salvaged materials from old buildings in Lynchburg. Took me five years, but I did it.”
Before he wore out his legs, he walked 2 miles every day for 32 years.
“I told people, it worked great, I ended up with real healthy body. I just couldn’t walk it around,” he joked.
Even up until a week ago, on June 22, at age 88, he was volunteering at the Lynchburg Museum, Director Ted Delaney said.
“He was one of the nicest, friendliest people that you would ever meet and he could immediately connect with people he never met before,” Delaney said.
Tinsley volunteered his time at Point of Honor and especially enjoyed hosting tours of the property and helping at Day at the Point festival held each fall.
“I think at the end of the day, he loved the people,” Delaney said. “He loved coming here because he was guaranteed to be with interesting people.”
Tinsley was also a member of the museum’s advisory board from 2011 to 2020.
“He was somebody who was so incredibly reasonable and disarming,” Delaney said. “He had an understated wisdom. He could engage people all across the spectrum about any belief. He could talk to anybody.”
He also volunteered when he could at the food distribution program, Food for Thought, run by Park View Community Mission.
“I’m the gray-haired man in the red hat tying up bags,” he joked. “Last month, we packed 850 bags in one morning.”
Barb Chase, director of Food for Thought, said Tinsley was one of the faithful Saturday morning volunteers.
“He was passionate to be a part of helping to make sure that the kids in Lynchburg had enough food to eat over the weekend,” Chase said. “Words fall short to express the joy it was to have him come in each week modeling to all in the room that volunteering adds quality to one’s life and that age does not need to restrict you. We celebrate the full life Ed lived and the laughter he brought to all of us each week.”
He lived in Forest with his wife of 49 years and is a proud father, grandfather and great-grandfather. “My great-grandson will be 16 this December,” he said.
When asked what’s changed most in law enforcement over the years, Tinsley doesn’t hesitate.
“Back then, society respected the law,” he said. “Now, I see things I couldn’t have imagined, people passing on double yellow lines, total disregard.”
Despite the changes, he never lost faith in the mission.
“Every day I went to work, I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing,” he said.
And as for those who wonder what kept him in uniform for 48 years?
“I just loved it,” Tinsley said. “Every day was different. Every day mattered.”
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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