Mr. Dewberry co-founded his eponymous professional services firm in 1956. Dewberry grew from a single-office, six-person civil engineering and surveying practice based in Northern Virginia to a nationwide consulting enterprise with more than 2,000 employees and 50 offices from coast to coast today.

The son of Albert J. and Katie Wilkerson Dewberry, Sidney Oliver Dewberry was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, on December 23, 1927. He grew up during the Depression on a tobacco farm along with eight brothers and sisters. At a young age, he watched his father supervising bridge construction crews in Southside Virginia, and realized by the age of 14 that he wanted to become an engineer.

Mr. Dewberry graduated from Gretna High School in 1945. After serving two years in the U.S. Army, he attended Virginia Tech for two years, then transferred to George Washington University where he graduated in 1951 with a degree in civil engineering. He married his hometown sweetheart, Reva Anne Lanier, in 1950.

With just five years of engineering experience in the Washington metropolitan area, Mr. Dewberry teamed with fellow engineer Jim Nealon in 1956 to launch their own firm. They purchased the Arlington, Virginia-based engineering department of homebuilder M.T. Broyhill and set to work supporting suburban land development in the region. Reva Dewberry served as bookkeeper and a silent partner for the practice. Richard N. Davis, also a graduate of George Washington University, joined the firm in 1958. Within a few short years, the modest venture expanded to several offices throughout the Washington area. The firm established its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, in 1965 and has been located on the same office campus ever since.

Through strategic acquisitions and organic growth, the privately held practice continued to grow nationwide as the decades passed. Today, Dewberry is ranked as one of the leading consulting firms in the U.S., providing design and consulting expertise to support major land development initiatives, transportation infrastructure, emergency management and disaster response, municipal engineering, and building design.

Among Mr. Dewberry’s proudest achievements were the fast-tracked design of the Dulles Toll Road in Fairfax County; the design of the Filene Center in Vienna, Virginia, after the original building was destroyed by fire; and planning and engineering for communities such as Montgomery Village in Maryland and Burke Centre in Northern Virginia. He also took pride in major projects around the country.

Dewberry continues to be a family-owned company. Mr. Dewberry turned over the reins as chairman of the board to his eldest son Barry Dewberry in 2012, assuming the title of chairman emeritus and founder. His daughter, Karen Grand Pré, and youngest son, Thomas Dewberry, serve on the board of directors. His grandson, Michael Sidney Dewberry, II, is an engineer in the Fairfax headquarters.

Mr. Dewberry’s interest in community development led him to co-author the Land Development Handbook, published by McGraw-Hill and now in its fourth edition. The textbook is widely used in civil engineering education programs. He was the chairman and a founding member of the acclaimed Engineers & Surveyors Institute, a model for government-industry partnership.

Mr. Dewberry was also a founding member and chairman emeritus of George Mason University’s Urban Systems Engineering Institute, now known as the Civil Engineering Institute. The university’s civil engineering department is named the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering in honor of their extensive contributions in establishing and supporting the department.

Mr. Dewberry was the recipient of multiple awards honoring his civic, charitable, and academic endeavors as well as his leadership in the profession. He was presented with George Washington University’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1991 and inducted into the university’s School of Engineering Hall of Fame in 2009. He received an honorary doctorate from Old Dominion University and was presented with the George Mason University Mason Medal.

Additional honors included the Virginia Economic Bridge Initiative’s Leadership Award, the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce’s Captain of Industry Award and James Reese Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Northern Virginia Community Foundation’s Founder’s Award. He was inducted into the Washington Business Hall of Fame in 2007. He was named “Northern Virginian of the Year” by New Dominion magazine and honored as a distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 2014, he was presented with the Northern Virginia Family Services Legends of Northern Virginia Award. The following year, he was inducted into the Arlington Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame.

In addition to his family and consulting practice, Mr. Dewberry’s interests included the collection of antique surveying and engineering tools. In 1995, he established the Sidney O. Dewberry Collection of Surveying and Engineering Technology, which remains on display in Dewberry’s Fairfax headquarters. Mr. Dewberry also enjoyed learning to play the piano at a late age, taking weekly lessons for years.

Mr. Dewberry was preceded in death by his wife of 72 years, Reva, and his son, Michael Sidney Dewberry. He is survived by his son Barry K. Dewberry and wife Arlene Evans; daughter Karen S. Grand Pré and husband Bruce; son Thomas L. Dewberry and wife Christine; daughter-in-law Stephanie A. Dewberry; grandchildren Candace and Suzanne Grand Pré, and Michael, Katie, John, Kelly, Quinn, and Reagan Dewberry; his multiple great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.