Roger Edward Cawthon was born in Newport News, VA to James and Gwendoline Cawthon on June 12, 1952. There he experienced a “joyful childhood” with his two brothers and a sister. He was co-captain of his high school football team and graduated from Ferguson High School in 1970. He received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated in the Class of 1975.
At West Point, the skills and character that shaped Roger’s adult life quickly emerged. After the difficult “Beast Barracks” military training, Roger impressed classmates by enthusiastically helping organize and perform in a morale-raising talent show. A classmate recalled: “Roger was one of the main elements, writing sketches, directing numbers, and singing lead. I think the song was ‘Get Ready’ by the Four Tops. He had a good singing voice. I will always remember Roger plebe year for his exuberance.” Another remembered: “We were roommates for a while during our plebe year at West Point. I remember he always had a song and was always outgoing. Roger was kind, thoughtful, funny and had a big heart.”
A third classmate recalled: “We were on battalion staff together during First Class year. Roger was a great roommate—always friendly and outgoing. He and I were always laughing and joking around. We both struggled with math and science. We spent hours commiserating about how useless these were, and how life would be better without them! Roger really helped me get through a tough episode, working hard to help me. I was crushed upon getting a letter from my high school girlfriend (on Valentine’s Day) saying she didn’t want to be a soldier’s wife. Roger stepped in with his great voice and joy in song. Though I can’t sing, Roger taught me the countermelody to the Jim Croce song ‘Operator.’ Something would make him think I was sad, and he would burst into song. He sang the melody, and I did the counter, or vice-versa. It always helped me to shrug off the funk, and he never cared how bad I sang!”
Roger was on the Army “B” Squad Football Team. He sang with the Glee Club and Chapel Choir. He worked as a DJ and commentator on the cadet-run WKDT radio station, spending time on air under a headset at old Building 720. Despite math and science, Roger persevered to graduate as an infantry officer.
Army assignments included the Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA; the Army Training Center at Fort Jackson, SC; and the 8th U.S. Army Headquarters in Seoul, Korea. Upon leaving the Army, Roger joined Ford Motor Company as a design and test engineer.
Soon, however, Roger’s love of sports, exuberant personality, writing skills, gift for visual imagery, and broadcast-quality voice led him to a career as a sportscaster at the then brand-new CNN in Atlanta, GA. His broadcasting career provided unique opportunities that became some of the highlights of his life: he played a round of golf with the legendary Jack Nicklaus, boxed a few rounds (very few, he always emphasized) with heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, and partied with James Brown, even getting to sing “Proud Mary” onstage once with the iconic “Godfather of Soul.” Wanting to be closer to family and friends in his hometown, he moved back to the Hampton Roads section of Virginia in 1981, where he became the sports director at WVEC-TV.
In 1982, he reconnected with a former high school friend, Kathy Jenkins, whom he soon realized was the love of his life. They married in 1984 and were joined for 36 years. In 1993, Roger opened American Builders of Virginia, Inc., which he managed until retiring in 2020.
Giving and generous, Roger was a quiet servant of his God. He lived his faith through his actions. He was a cheerful, happy man whose greatest joys in life included seeing other people happy, classic rock ’n’ roll (louder was better) and classic cars, rescuing small furry creatures, sunsets over Albemarle Sound, and, most of all, his family. He loved to laugh and was quick with a joke. If a joke fell flat, he just grinned and said, “Some of these are just for me.”
Roger survived life-threatening cancer in 1995. He and Kathy (also a cancer survivor) ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 1999 to celebrate their survival and to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He became an active volunteer with the American Cancer Society, chairing the Todd Stadium Relay for Life (Newport News) for two years and helping to create the Darling Stadium Relay for Life (Hampton), for which he received the Board of Trustees Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Cancer Society. He then spent 10 years traveling with his wife to cancer survivor events and medical and pharmaceutical conferences around the country. He gave keynote speeches spreading his message of fighting cancer with hope and humor and the spirit of a warrior. Like so many warriors who fall on the battlefield, Roger was taken by the very enemy he had devoted many years to fighting.
Roger is survived by his mother, Gwendoline; wife, Kathy; stepsons, Ryan and Reid Corbett; siblings: Mary Priddy, Rick, and John; five nieces; a nephew; and six great-nieces and great-nephews.
Roger was a huge fan of the band the Eagles and a favorite song was “Hole in the World.” There is, indeed, a hole in the world after his passing. Family, friends, and classmates will all miss you, Roger. You served nation and community. Well Done; Be Thou at Peace.
— Kathy Cawthon, wife, and classmates