Richard Casavant
Richard Casavant, age 77, died peacefully and with the utmost grace at his home in Atlanta, Georgia on March 31, 2020. At his side were his wife Jane and his son John, and his constant canine companion, Archie. He was also surrounded with love from his son David and other family and friends.
Since he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in early 2018, Richard remained insistent that his death never be described as his “losing a valiant and courageous battle with cancer”. Rather, he preferred to say that any battle would result in no better than a tie, since he “intended to take this sucker down with me.” Richard indeed embraced life to the fullest over the last two years, marveling at parts of the world he never thought he would ever see (or even want to see), relishing every adventure, and bravely consuming every bit of odd food presented to him (“odd” being almost anything other than his beloved spaghetti and meatballs).
Richard was born on June 23, 1942, in Athens, Tennessee, to the late Albert Richard “Cas” Casavant and Nancye Ewing Casavant. He was a 1960 graduate of Chattanooga City High, and although a speedy running back for the high school football team, he recognized that his short stature was not likely to result in a lifelong football career. Therefore, he wisely switched his focus to business and education, receiving a B.A. in Economics from Emory University in 1964, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1966, and a Ph.D. in Marketing from Georgia State University in 1976. With his various degrees, Richard often self-deprecatingly said that he was educated beyond his intelligence. Following his graduation from Wharton, he served in the United States Air Force, Medical Service Corps, as a 1st Lieutenant and Medical Supply Officer from 1966-1969.
In 1976, Richard began a successful and fulfilling 30-plus year teaching career at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, first as an Associate Professor of Marketing, ultimately becoming the Alan Lorberbaum Professor of Marketing, Director of the UTC Family Business Center, and the John Staigmaier Chair and Dean of the College of Business, retiring as Dean in 2010. During his tenure at UTC, he fostered and promoted the concept of individual entrepreneurship, creating a distinct curriculum and innovative programs, resulting in UTC becoming one of the first fifty colleges in the United States to have such a curriculum.
Richard was also devoted to public service, serving on the Signal Mountain, Tennessee Town Council for six years, and then serving three four-year terms as a Commissioner on the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners (1998-2010, Chair in 2002-2003. He passionately advocated that quality education was available to all, and he dedicated the majority of his years in public service to establishing a public middle/high school for the citizens of his community in Signal Mountain, Tennessee. One of his proudest achievements was the opening of Signal Mountain Middle-High School in 2008. For all his efforts in furtherance of the school, he was honored in 2015 with the opening of the Richard Casavant Media and Enrichment Center, although he dryly noted that the creative genes in the Casavant family primarily resided in his two sons, his father, and his siblings, since he “could barely play the radio”.
He is survived by his adoring wife, Jane Jordan Casavant; his sons John Richard Casavant (Gregory Spears) and David Michael Casavant, both of New York City, New York; brothers Charles Casavant of Charlottesville, VA and Brett Casavant (Angela) of Athens, Tennessee; sister Carol Casavant (Robert Behal) of Troy, Idaho; nephews Jay Casavant of Chattanooga, Tennessee; Chaiyim Casavant (Brittney) and Yada Casavant of Athens, Tennessee; Abner Casavant (Hannah) of Boulder, Colorado; nieces Mary Anderson Casavant (Scott Wilson) of New York City, New York, Havilah Johnson (Dave) of California, and Elana Casavant of Alpharetta, Georgia, his great-nieces and nephews, and of course Archie, his devoted Basset Hound.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Dorothy (Wendy) Nixon Casavant; his brother Edward Casavant and his sister-in-law Phyllis Casavant.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Mountain Education Fund in Signal Mountain, Tennessee P.O. Box 81, Signal Mountain, TN 37377 or on its website at www.meftoday.org.
In light of the current pandemic health crisis, a memorial service cannot be held at this time but will be scheduled at a later date, to be held at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia.