The city is mourning Edgar “Chip” Rohr, a soccer coach, camp director and Old Town businessman whose family name is woven into Manassas history, after a friend wrote on Facebook that he died early Saturday.
Aaron Grimsley wrote on Facebook on Sunday that Rohr “passed away early Saturday morning.” Funeral arrangements and an official obituary had not been announced as of Monday morning.
Rohr was the son of Edgar Rohr, a longtime Manassas mayor and City Council member for whom the City Council chambers were renamed in 2024, and Walser Rohr. He and his wife, Nancy, were longtime fixtures at the annual Edgar Rohr Memorial Car Meet hosted by the Bull Run Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America.
“If you’re from Manassas Va. you probably have run into Chip Rohr at some point,” Grimsley wrote on Facebook. “Chips family owned and operated Rohrs five and dime in old town Manassas for decades. … Chip was involved in to many things to mention. He ran a soccer camp, coached soccer at Brentsville high school and chaired the Prince William Co. Ducks Unlimited committee for many years. I’m so thankful that I had the chance work with Chip at D.U. And to go hunting with him. … R.I.P. Chip you will never be forgotten.”
Soccer coach and Hall of Famer
Rohr was inducted into the Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010 for meritorious service. The Hall of Fame says he first played soccer at the University of Richmond, played senior amateur soccer for 20 years, started boys soccer programs at three high schools and spent 35 years as a varsity boys head coach. His teams won district and regional championships and reached state finals. He was named Virginia Small School Coach of the Year four times and regional coach of the year twice, and was nominated for national coach of the year three times.
According to InsideNoVa, Rohr coached boys soccer at Osbourn High School for 12 years and at Brentsville High School for 18 years. At Brentsville, InsideNoVa reported, he won 194 games and took the team to four Group A state finals, winning the state title in 1996. At Osbourn, he won three region titles from 1986 to 1988, when the Manassas city school was still a Group AA program and there was no Group AA state tournament. InsideNoVa also reported that he was an assistant coach on the George Mason University men’s soccer team from 1979 to 1984 and ran a soccer camp for more than 30 years.
The Hall of Fame bio lists him as a co-founder of two of the first soccer camps in Northern Virginia and as director of the Chip Rohr Soccer Camp, and says his proudest achievement was long service on the Virginia Youth Soccer Association coaching education staff.
Rohr’s Store and Old Town
Rohr’s 5 Cents to $1 Store was a fixture of Old Town Manassas for decades. The Washington Post reported in 1997 that Chip Rohr’s grandfather opened the store in 1934 and later turned it over to Chip’s father, Edgar. Edgar and Walser also built an antiques museum around their collections; Chip announced that year that Rohr’s Store and Museum would close at the end of July.
“It’s time for me to go back to doing what I had intended to do in the first place,” Chip Rohr told The Washington Post then, pointing to soccer coaching and camps.
Michelle Parks wrote on Facebook that she remembered shopping at the five-and-dime as a child and that Rohr carried a notebook of city fixes he wanted addressed.
“My deepest sympathies to the Rohr family,” Parks wrote on Facebook. “‘Mr. Chip’ as I called him was a great man from a very well known and respected family in the City of Manassas. Those of us who grew up in Manassas remember the family’s store: Rohr’s Five and Dime in old town…I have so many great memories of shopping there as a child. He was always so respectful and carried that little notebook with him everywhere so he could keep notes of things he would see that needed to be fixed or worked on in the city and when we saw each other he made sure to tell me every single item….he kept me on my toes! Such great memories! Thankful for him and his tenacity and mostly his love of the City! I am so happy that he agreed to be a part of my oral history panel held back in August. He is seated in the group picture with the lavender shirt on. That was the last time we saw each other. Rest in peace sir. Prayers to the entire Rohr family for comfort and strength in the days ahead.”
Rohr also spoke often before City Council and for the Old Town Business Association. City records show him addressing council in 2014 as an OTBA representative about depot parking and again in 2019 on the library and Grant Avenue streetscape.
Black Metal Mercantile, an Old Town shop, wrote on Facebook: “We lost one of the good ones this past weekend friends.” The shop said Rohr “was never too shy to speak his mind about his concerns about Manassas” and that he “participated in many causes, including being a point man for all those Christmas lights you see on the buildings in town at Christmas time.” The post said the owner knew him through OTBA and MASA soccer at Ben Lomond, and added: “I was lucky enough to see him not too long ago and I’ll lock that memory in, he was in good spirits that day – in spite of his battle.”
Civic tributes
Manassas City Council member Tom Osina wrote on Facebook: “Manassas has lost someone who was truly part of its history and character. Chip Rohr was one of those people whose connection to this community went far beyond simply living here. He was an institution in our city through his involvement with the Old Town Business Association, Ducks Unlimited, a memorial car show in honor of his dad, and his dedication to developing generations of young soccer players and coaches. He understood that while the past deserves to be remembered and preserved, it is what we do today that helps shape what comes next. I will miss my friend.”
Former Manassas City Council member and former Virginia Del. Ian T. Lovejoy wrote on Facebook: “Chip was always there when you needed him and told it like it is. He will be missed.”
Del. Sonia Vásquez Luna, D-Manassas, who represents House District 20, was quoted by InsideNoVa from a Facebook post: “It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news that ‘Chip’ Rohr passed away. Mr. Rohr and his family have been an important part of the fabric of our Manassas community for many years. Their friendships, contributions, and presence have touched so many lives and helped shape the community we are proud to call home.”
Rohr’s father, Edgar, served about 32 years as mayor and council member. The city renamed its renovated City Council chambers for him in September 2024, citing work that included Lake Manassas, land for Manassas Regional Airport and the Liberia House Historic Site.
A cause of death was not stated in the Facebook tributes reviewed Monday. Services had not been announced.
