"Mickey" Caviness

We are saddened to announce the passing of:

"Mickey" Caviness

September 4, 1942 - May 6, 2024

We are reaching out to our communities and networks for support and help with Mickey's end of life expenses. Any contribution, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated by the family.

We would also be grateful for your thoughts, prayers, and messages of support. Please feel free to leave a note in remembrance of Mickey below.

You might be wondering what happened?:

After suffering a stroke, Mickey spent his last couple of years in refuge in the home of his ex-wife Patty in Shenandoah VA. His daughter Regina put all of her belongings into storage in North Carolina and moved in to care for him full time. Dementia and Alzheimer's rapidly depleted his health and the care he required depleted the family's finances. He spent his last few months at Brookside Rehab & Nursing Center in the memory care unit.

His daughter Regina also sends a big thank you to the many neighbors, local law enforcement, and emergency personnel for their capacity to understand Dementia and Alzheimers Disease, the GPS watch they gifted him, and for their kind and persistent help in assisting her in the care and monitoring of her father... in rescuing him from the Shenandoah bridge, and his many other Dementia escapades.

Thank you for your compassion and generosity.

A Note about Mickey from his daughter Regina:

The last days with my Dad were a challenge. A long time ago, my Dad taught me how to whistle like a Whipporwill and call like a Bobwhite, how to catch night crawlers, bread a net for minnows, cast a line, ...reverse a layup with spin, use my peripheral vision, to appreciate the beauty of a bounce pass with a lead, how to shoot a gun, pick berries and crack walnuts, how to catch, and how to fall without getting hurt..."tuck and roll" ....So, I say, 'Tuck and Roll', Dad. ....I'm grateful for the good memories...and as for the rest, may it all be up to be healed.

If you would like to know more about Mickey, there is information below and some photos from his life:

Many will remember him most for his sense of humor or for his love of hunting and fishing. He traveled all over the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Germany for big game, salmon runs, trout, and deep sea fishing...Mickey clocked countless hours on his boat with friends. Big or small, he was always happy to catch a fish.

Mickey grew up with his two brothers, Buddy and Ronnie, at Boys Home in Covington VA. He also remained life-long friends with Lloyd and Boyd Milstead, also from Boy's Home.

Life at Boy's Home in the 1940's was a different era.... Mickey sported one pair of shoes in winter and went barefoot in the summers. He shoveled coal for fifteen cents a week, which gave him a nickle for the movies and a walk to town on Saturday. The dime, he had to save for church on Sunday. He climbed the local shale cliffs and swam under Humpback Bridge. For fun he would climb to the top of the water tower and stand on his head.

Mickey kept this photo of himself by his bed and took it with him wherever he traveled...he said he had made a promise to that boy in the photo a long time ago that he would take him to see the world.

Mickey graduated from the American Military Academy (AMA) and earned the honor of "All-American" football player. Here is a picture of him at Bridgewater College playing football on scholarship. He played as the team's Running Back and the Kicker/Punter.

Mickey was a great all around athlete, loved baseball, football, basketball,... boxing, track, ...and diving. He worked as a lifeguard. He was recruited by many colleges for football and the Cleveland Indians for baseball. At Boy's Home he developed his skills through competition with all the boys and running the long distance to school. He would often reminisce and say, "I could fly."

After earning his Bachelor's Degree at Bridgewater College in Education, Mickey taught school at Shenandoah Elementary in Shenandoah VA and coached football at Elkton High School in Elkton VA. He refereed games as a side hustle while earning his Masters Degree in Education from the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville VA.

Mickey had two daughters, Regina and Michele, together with his wife Patty. He transitioned his career to Real Estate in the 1970's, earned his Broker's License, and opened his own business Rockingham Realty in McGaheysvilla VA, marking the beginning of his life-long committment to closing deals.

Mickey was fortunate that his work took him traveling to many beautiful places, such as the east coast beaches and mountains, the Florida panhandle, Mexico, and the Bahamas. He continued to earn top salesman awards and managed many different Time-Share companies. He considered Massanutten to be his cornerstone, perhaps even his home. He returned to Massanutten many different times throughout his life which also served to be the last place he worked in 2018. He would often smile and say, "I was one of the first men up there," when recollecting Massanutten. The photo he took in the 1990's of his two daughters, Regina and Michele, with the ski slopes in the background, he said, 'represented his whole life' :

Well into his sixites Mickey was diving of cliffs, playing basketball, tennis, snorkeling, white water rafting...He said golf was too slow. He was known to stop in awe of a sunset, admire the view of the mountains, or go outside to see the night sky; He loved the outdoors and seeing the wildlife.

Mickey was very proud of his grandson, Ronan:

Thank you for reading about Mickey. We will miss his stories, and the laughter, and the sentimental twinkle he could not hide in the corner of his eye.