Richard Layland; Retired Businessman

Richard D. Layland, a retired businessman and former national baton champion, has died at his home in Three Rivers, Calif. He was 65.

A former resident of Arleta, Layland died April 27 of a heart attack, said his son, David Layland of Granada Hills.

Layland, who was born in Audubon, Iowa, served as a radio operator in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After he was discharged, Layland settled in Burbank where he ran Dick Layland’s Baton & Dance Studio during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Layland was national baton twirling champion for three years and was a drum major while he attended USC.

He began working as a distributor for the Los Angeles Times in the late 1950s. He also operated four launderettes in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s and owned Layland Motors, an auto repair shop, in Panorama City in the early 1980s. Layland retired from The Times in 1986 and moved to Three Rivers.

He was an Eagle Scout, and had been a past president of the Kiwanis Club in Pacoima and a member of the Elks Lodge in Burbank.

In addition to his son, Layland is survived by his wife of 41 years, Gloria Layland; sons Jonathan Layland of Reseda and Tom Layland of Visalia; daughter Sally Klocke of Three Rivers; and 10 grandchildren. Another son, Jack Layland, died in 1986.

A memorial service is planned for today at 2 p.m. at Osborne Neighborhood Church, 13501 Osborne St., in Arleta. Evans-Miller Exeter Chapel in Exeter, Calif., is handling the arrangements.