Harry W. “Red” Caughron, longtime head football coach and athletic director at Woodberry Forest School, died in Orange, VA, on May 28, 2010. He was eighty-eight years old.

Red came to Woodberry in 1960 and became athletic director the next year. During his thirty-one seasons as Woodberry’s head football coach, he compiled a record of 217 wins, fifty-six losses, and seven ties—one of the best among Virginia high school coaches. His teams, eight of which were undefeated, earned fifteen conference championships. By the time of his retirement in 1992, he had been named Virginia Prep League Coach of the Year eight times. Red and his wife, Cathy, founded Woodberry’s highly popular Sports Camp in 1967.

“Red is widely recognized by countless Woodberry graduates as a modest man who, while committed to winning, was even more invested in developing young men of sterling character who played by the rules and exhibited good sportsmanship,” said Woodberry Headmaster Dennis M. Campbell. “He and Cathy are beloved across the Woodberry community.”

A native of Sevierville, Tennessee, Red played freshman football at the College of William & Mary before joining the U.S. Army in 1943. After the war, he returned to William & Mary, where he co-captained the squad that defeated Oklahoma State in the 1948 Delta Bowl, and completed undergraduate and graduate degrees. He received All-State, All-Southern, and All-American honors during his playing career. He was inducted into the William & Mary Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Red is survived by his wife, Cathy, who lives in Orange. He also is survived by daughters Cindy Kemper, and her husband, Jeffery Kemper, of Madison County; and Deb Follo Caughron, and her husband, Michael Follo, of Woodberry Forest. Deb, a 1974 Woodberry graduate, has directed the school’s outdoor program since 2000. Michael Follo teaches science at Woodberry. Red is also survived by a granddaughter, Michelle Mumfrey, and her husband, Mario Mumfrey, of Newport News; and a great-granddaughter, Mariana Mumfrey.

The family will celebrate Mr. Caughron's life 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at Woodberry Forest School's Johnson Stadium with Joe Coleman officiating.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made in his name to Woodberry Forest School for the Caughron Athletic Complex, 117 Woodberry Station, Woodberry Forest, VA 22989 and / or Hospice of the Rapidan, P.O. Box 1715 Culpeper, VA 22701.