Rita (Tica) Sydnor

Tica Sydnor was born in San Antonio, Texas on VJ Day. She was an army brat who lived in Bonn, Germany; Geneva, Switzerland; Colorado Springs; and Washington D.C. She graduated from the International School in Geneva. Her family was close and her sister Paula was her best friend in all their travels.

Tica attended Southern Seminary Jr. College in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She fell in love with Virginia and her husband Starke (from Lynchburg) at Washington & Lee University. After college they married in Colorado Springs and moved to New Ulm Germany for four years with the Air Force. For the next ten years, Lynchburg became home, and their family grew to include three children – Gar, Beth and Cas. In 1981, the family moved to Birmingham, Alabama where Starke practiced environmental law.

Tica and Starke loved to travel with favorite places in the Yorkshire Lake District, the Moors and the Dales. Hilton Head Island, where Tica’s parents retired, was also a special destination.

Once the children were off to college, Tica began a successful wedding business designing and creating gowns and importing Brussels Lace veils for Tica Designs.

In 2001, Tica and Starke returned to Lynchburg for early retirement. Tica found a new love – painting Botanicals in watercolor. In 2019, she published a book, The Flower and the Butterfly.

Tica is an active member of St. John’s Episcopal Church and the Flower Guild. She plays mahjong, loves historical novels and still enjoys painting. She hopes to teach classes at Westminster Canterbury in the fall. Her schedule is filled with visits to her children and 7 grandchildren – Gar and Michelle in Boston, Cas and Jacqueline in Charleston, and Beth and John in Birmingham.

Tica loves her new life at Westminster Canterbury. Her husband (deceased in 2018) served on the WC Board and his hope was that Tica would make WC her new home one day. That day is here!

When you meet Tica, she might be with her fluffy companion, her dog Benji.