Richard P. Ovenshine

Brigadier General Richard Powell Ovenshine, U.S. Army (ret) (November 6, 1899 - July 14, 1992) was a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from the Mount Vernon District from 1956 to 1960.

Ovenshine was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Alexander and Mary Ovenshine. The Ovenshines were an old military family; both his father and grandfather Samuel had retired from the Army as brigadier generals. Ovenshine attended West Point, where he graduated in 1919.

On August 22, 1922, Ovenshine married the former Emma Gertrude Tipton in Houston, Texas.

A career military officer, Ovenshine served in both World War II and Korea.

After 35 years of service, General Ovenshine retired from the Army in 1954, choosing to settle in Fairfax County.

In 1955, Ovenshine was elected to the Board of Supervisors, defeating Democrat John P. Parrish and becoming along with A. Claiborne Leigh and William H. Moss, one of the first three Republicans elected to the board since Civil War times.

Upon departing the supervisor's office, Ovenshine advocated for the creation of a comprehensive plan for Fairfax County and for a reform of government organization in the county. The former later became enshrined in the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan, while the latter was accomplished by deputy county executive George J. Kelley, Jr. in the mid-1960's.