Robert Hugh McCaskill

Dr. Robert H. McCaskill, 87, of Columbia, MD passed away at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, August 3, 2024. Hugh was born on March 24, 1937, in Moore County, NC. He is preceded in death by his parents, Clinton and Audrey McKenzie McCaskill, brother Thomas Blue and sisters Lydia McCaskill Parker and Francis McCaskill Ward.

Hugh is survived by his wife Avon Garrison McCaskill of Columbia, MD. He had 3 children; Hugh Martin and his wife, Danielle Schaefer of Fort Mill, SC; Robert Keith and his wife Xuan Bui of Wilmington, DE; and Lindsay Diane of Dallas, TX; 6 grandchildren, Alyssa McCaskill and her husband Jack Auslander of Barcelona, Spain, Emma and Alex of Fort Mill, SC and Khai, Anh-Linh and Aila of Wilmington, DE. He is also survived by his 2 siblings, James Clinton McCaskill of Pinehurst, NC and John Worthy McCaskill, also of Pinehurst, NC.

He graduated from Carthage High school in 1955. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina in 1959. He received his master’s degree in 1973 and Doctor of Education from the University of Maryland 1979.

For 27 years, he was a dedicated teacher in the public-school systems of Guilford County, NC, Robeson County, NC and Prince George’s County, MD. He taught Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science and Drivers Education at several junior and high schools. For many of those years, he coached basketball and football. For the last 15 years of his career, he was a beloved science technician at the Owens Science Center in Lanham, MD.

Hugh’s life was made up of equal parts athletic excellence and intellectual curiosity combined with a strong sense of family and community. In school, he was a 3-sport athlete culminating in winning the baseball county championship of 1955. And that same year, he went on to be the first of his family to attend college which was the start of a 20-year journey ending with the awarding of a Doctor of Education in Human Development. His hobbies were many including golf, astronomy, camping, sports car racing, automotive repair and restoration, carpentry and travel. He enjoyed watching his Tarheels compete in ACC basketball, cheered on the Skins when they had team worth cheering for and finally, rooted for the Nationals, when baseball returned to the area. He also relished NASCAR and his favorite driver Dale Earnhardt. But for him, family always came first. For almost 40 years he was the elder statesman of a sprawling, rambunctious clan of McCaskill’s from Carthage. He oversaw birthdays and funerals, holidays and vacations, and all manner of events in between with his quick wit and twinkling eye. Coach, mentor, jokester, authority, he played each role as needed to family, friends and neighbors alike. Beloved brother, husband, father, uncle, grandfather and always friend, our original Bonehead will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

A memorial for Hugh will be held on Wednesday, August 14 from 4 pm to 7 pm at the Witzke Funeral Home, Inc, 5555 Twin Knolls Road, Columbia, MD 21045. A burial service will be held on Monday, August 19 at 11:00 am at Union Presbyterian Church, 2000 Union Church Rd, Cameron, NC 28326. Light refreshments will follow in the fellowship hall.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Union Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 898, Carthage, NC 28327 or New Hope Lutheran Church, 8575 Guilford Rd, Columbia, MD 21046.