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Letter to the editor

A life of laughter, service

The ex-college administrator was an avid volunteer.

By MARTY CLEAR, Times Correspondent
Published December 28, 2007

It was only eight years ago that John McCaughey moved to Plant City, but his influence on the community was substantial.

From a career as a college administrator and a post-retirement job with a state representative to a hectic schedule of volunteer work, Mr. McCaughey devoted the last years of his life to Plant City and its people.

"This community was very important to him," said his wife, Susan.

Mr. McCaughey, 67, died suddenly on Dec. 17.

The exact cause of his death hasn't been determined. He had difficulty breathing and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He lost consciousness soon after and died a few days later.

By the time he came to Plant City in 1999, Mr. McCaughey had already established a successful career as a community college administrator. He moved here from Maryland to become dean of students at the Plant City campus of Hillsborough Community College.

A former co-worker from Maryland had moved to Sebring a few years earlier. When she heard Mr. McCaughey was coming to Plant City, she offered to show him around. Slightly more than a year later, they married.

"He was just someone I knew from work," Susan McCaughey said. "We were friends. Never in a million years did we think we'd end up dating, let alone get married."

Even as he was beginning a new job and a new marriage, Mr. McCaughey found the time and energy for countless hours of community service. His wife said she couldn't even remember all the local boards and committees he served on in the past eight years, but they included Friends of the Library, the Kiwanis Annual Classic golf tournament, the Bing House, the Plant City Arts Council, Neighborhood Service Center and the United Food Bank.

"He especially loved to work with committees that helped children," his wife said.

In October, the Kiwanis Club honored Mr. McCaughey with the George F. Hixson award for his service to the community.

The award is usually given to people who have lived and worked in the area for much longer, Susan McCaughey said. But Mr. McCaughey had packed a lifetime of service into a handful of years.

He retired from HCC in 2003, but retirement didn't suit him. He soon took a job in the office of state Rep. Rich Glorioso and was working there until his death.

Mr. McCaughey had fallen about six or seven weeks ago and broken his arm, but his health had been otherwise good and he never lost the affable personality and vibrant sense of humor that endeared him to so many people in the community.

"He just loved people, and people loved him," she said. "He laughed a lot, and when he laughed his whole body shook. One thing everybody will always remember about him is his laughter."

Besides his wife, Mr. McCaughey is survived by his daughter Alysen,son Chad, stepchildren Yvonne and Grant Hammond, and five granddaughters.

[Last modified December 27, 2007, 23:26:56]