Saturday, May 13, 2023 - Lexington, Virginia
- 5:00 p.m. Reception, Manor Home tours, Meet & Greet
- 6:00 p.m. BBQ Dinner
- 7:00 p.m. Program
Kappa Alpha Order National Administrative Office at Mulberry Hill
115 Liberty Hall Road, Lexington, Virginia 24450
Summer casual dress (jacket, no tie)
The GMOV to District 20 will be held on the grounds of Mulberry Hill. Located on eight acres in Lexington, Virginia, Mulberry Hill is one of Virginia’s historic manor homes and is placed on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places. Today it is the home of Kappa Alpha Order (known as “KA” or “the Order”) National Administrative Office and the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation.
DONALD ELLIS STREHLE
177TH GRAND MASTER OF MASONS IN VIRGINIA
177TH GRAND MASTER OF MASONS IN VIRGINIA
Donald Ellis Strehle was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, March 28. He is the third son of the late Frank E. Strehle and the late Thelma G. Strehle. Brother Strehle moved to Newport News, Virginia at age 7 and graduated from Denbigh High School in 1974. He graduated from Radford University in 1978 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. He moved to Arlington, Virginia where he began his banking career in 1979 with Continental Federal Savings Bank and attended Commercial Lending School at the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business. His last position with Continental Federal, now SunTrust Bank, was Senior Vice President in charge of commercial and consumer lending. Later, he held the management position of Executive Vice President with F&M Bank Northern Virginia. In 2005 he was named Regional President for BB&T, administratively responsible for 600 employees, 80 financial centers, $6 billion in deposits and 140,000 client households in Northern Virginia. He currently is the Managing Director for the Washington, D.C. office of Sterling Capital Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T).
Brother Strehle was made a Master Mason in Cherrydale-Columbia Lodge No. 42, Arlington, Virginia, October 19, 1996, where he is a Life Member in Perpetuity. He served as Worshipful Master in 2001. He has been Cherrydale-Columbia’s Lodge Trustee since 2002 and served as Treasurer for fifteen years. He also holds membership in A. Douglas Smith, Jr. Research Lodge No. 1949. He was appointed District Deputy Grand Master of Masonic District No. 54 in 2008. He served as Grand Senior Steward in 2012 and also served on the Grand Lodge Committee on Finance for eleven years. He is the Grand Representative to the Grand Lodge of the State of Bahia, Brazil, near Virginia. Brother Strehle was elected Grand Junior Deacon in November 2016.
Brother Strehle was made a Master Mason in Cherrydale-Columbia Lodge No. 42, Arlington, Virginia, October 19, 1996, where he is a Life Member in Perpetuity. He served as Worshipful Master in 2001. He has been Cherrydale-Columbia’s Lodge Trustee since 2002 and served as Treasurer for fifteen years. He also holds membership in A. Douglas Smith, Jr. Research Lodge No. 1949. He was appointed District Deputy Grand Master of Masonic District No. 54 in 2008. He served as Grand Senior Steward in 2012 and also served on the Grand Lodge Committee on Finance for eleven years. He is the Grand Representative to the Grand Lodge of the State of Bahia, Brazil, near Virginia. Brother Strehle was elected Grand Junior Deacon in November 2016.
Brother Strehle is a member of the Valley of Alexandria, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite and was invested Knight Commander Court of Honour in 2019. He holds membership in Cherrydale Royal Arch Chapter No. 35, Arlington Commandery No. 29, Knights Templar, and Kena Shrine Center. He is a Past Patron and current Trustee of Unity Chapter No. 201, Order of the Eastern Star, Falls Church, Virginia. He served as Treasurer of the OES Home Board of Governors from 2009 to 2015, and is a Past Grand Patron of the Grand Chapter of Virginia, Order of the Eastern Star. He is a Past Associate Guardian of Bethel No. 1, Arlington, Virginia. He served as Grand Chaplain, 2006-2007 and Associate Grand Guardian of Virginia, Job’s Daughters International, 2013-2014. He has served as the Treasurer of the Masters’ and Wardens’ Association for Masonic District 54 for sixteen years and is Vice-President of the DeMolay Foundation of Virginia. Brother Strehle is also the recipient of the DeMolay Legion of Honor and is a member of the National Sojourners, Incorporated, Hampton Roads Chapter No. 6 and a member of the Washington and Lee York Rite Sovereign College.
Brother Strehle has also been very active in the community. Within Northern Virginia, he is a Board Member, Community Foundation for Northern Virginia; Past President, Northern Virginia Community College Foundation; Award Recipient and Member of the Door Opener Society; Member, Radford University President’s Business and Economic Advisory Council; Member, Bailey Crossroads Rotary Club; Life Member, Prince William Chapter/Northern Virginia Building Industry Association; Past Member, Northern Virginia Association of Realtors; Past member of Arlington Jaycees, Past Chairman of the Visiting Nurse Association of Northern Virginia, former Vice-Chairman of Capital Hospice and served on the Foundation Board for INOVA Health System. He is an active member of Cherrydale United Methodist Church, serving in many capacities and presently a Trustee and Chairman of the Finance Committee. In his leisure time, he enjoys playing golf at Washington Golf and Country Club where he is a member.
Brother Strehle is married to the former Mary Lee Dodge of Arlington. They have three daughters, all Past Honored Queens of Bethel No. 1, Job’s Daughters, Arlington, Virginia. Sara is married to Dr. Kevin W. Duke, and they have two children, Thomas and Emily Duke; Laura Ellen is married to Brian Kobler, and they have a daughter, Luella Kobler; and Lee Anne is married to Stephen Bradley Weiss.
Brother Strehle has also been very active in the community. Within Northern Virginia, he is a Board Member, Community Foundation for Northern Virginia; Past President, Northern Virginia Community College Foundation; Award Recipient and Member of the Door Opener Society; Member, Radford University President’s Business and Economic Advisory Council; Member, Bailey Crossroads Rotary Club; Life Member, Prince William Chapter/Northern Virginia Building Industry Association; Past Member, Northern Virginia Association of Realtors; Past member of Arlington Jaycees, Past Chairman of the Visiting Nurse Association of Northern Virginia, former Vice-Chairman of Capital Hospice and served on the Foundation Board for INOVA Health System. He is an active member of Cherrydale United Methodist Church, serving in many capacities and presently a Trustee and Chairman of the Finance Committee. In his leisure time, he enjoys playing golf at Washington Golf and Country Club where he is a member.
Brother Strehle is married to the former Mary Lee Dodge of Arlington. They have three daughters, all Past Honored Queens of Bethel No. 1, Job’s Daughters, Arlington, Virginia. Sara is married to Dr. Kevin W. Duke, and they have two children, Thomas and Emily Duke; Laura Ellen is married to Brian Kobler, and they have a daughter, Luella Kobler; and Lee Anne is married to Stephen Bradley Weiss.
MULBERRY HILL
Front Exterior of Mulberry Hill
Mulberry Hill, a five-bay, two-story brick dwelling with a four-room, double pile, central passage plan, contains outstanding examples of late Georgian interior woodwork and represents at least four different building periods that range from the late 18th to the early 20th century. One of the great manor houses of the region, it is scenically sited on a ridge and surrounded by nearly eight acres of rolling lawns and trees. Mulberry Hill evolved from a 36’ by 37’ stone plantation house (circa 1777) to a 36’ by 63’ brick, story and a half manor house. The house was enlarged to a two-story gable roof design just prior to the Civil War. Subsequent owners gave it today’s appearance without changing the original rooms, each of which contains a fireplace.
Rev. William Graham, a Presbyterian minister and rector of Liberty Hall Academy (the predecessor of Washington & Lee University), built the original plantation house. Rev. Graham was a Princeton University classmate and friend of Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee of Revolutionary War fame and the father of Robert E. Lee. Harry Lee attributed his graduation from Princeton to Rev. Graham because he allowed Harry to study with him. Rev. Graham is buried on the Washington & Lee campus, adjacent to Lee Chapel.
Rev. William Graham, a Presbyterian minister and rector of Liberty Hall Academy (the predecessor of Washington & Lee University), built the original plantation house. Rev. Graham was a Princeton University classmate and friend of Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee of Revolutionary War fame and the father of Robert E. Lee. Harry Lee attributed his graduation from Princeton to Rev. Graham because he allowed Harry to study with him. Rev. Graham is buried on the Washington & Lee campus, adjacent to Lee Chapel.
Formal Gardens of Mulberry Hill
Mulberry Hill was purchased in 1797 by Andrew Reid, the first clerk of court in Rockbridge County, who built a one-story, double-pile brick house. Reid later left the home to his son, Samuel Reid, who was the county’s second clerk of court. The younger Reid was a senior trustee of Washington College for 50 years, a founder of The Franklin Society and a colonel in the militia.
On September 18, 1865, Robert E. Lee arrived at Mulberry Hill as a guest of Col. Reid to begin the preparations for assuming the presidency of Washington College and to meet with the trustees of the College. Lee would spend four nights at Mulberry Hill in the days prior to his inauguration as president of the College. From 1931 until the purchase by the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation, Mulberry Hill was owned by the Tyree/Grigsby family. The KAOEF purchased the property from Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Tyree Jr., who purchased the property from his mother and father. Mulberry Hill is a Virginia Historic Landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and subject to a historic preservation easement to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
On September 18, 1865, Robert E. Lee arrived at Mulberry Hill as a guest of Col. Reid to begin the preparations for assuming the presidency of Washington College and to meet with the trustees of the College. Lee would spend four nights at Mulberry Hill in the days prior to his inauguration as president of the College. From 1931 until the purchase by the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation, Mulberry Hill was owned by the Tyree/Grigsby family. The KAOEF purchased the property from Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Tyree Jr., who purchased the property from his mother and father. Mulberry Hill is a Virginia Historic Landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and subject to a historic preservation easement to the Commonwealth of Virginia.