Howard Ray Daugherty Jr.
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| Howard with his grandson Costa | |
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| Personal information | |
| Born: |
11 September 1943 (age 80) Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Citizenship: | United States |
| Family | |
| Spouses |
Donna Dickey (m. 1981, dec. 1995)
Linda Ivey
(m. 2003) |
| Children | Jane and Katie |
| Parents | Howard and Mildred |
| Career | |
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| Awards | |
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Howard Ray Daugherty Jr. (born September 11, 1943) is an American former coach, county vocational technical program director, and educator who worked in Washington County for 40 years before retiring to a life of leisure traveling between his homes in Gulf Shores, McIntosh, and Auburn, Alabama. He is the proud father to two adult daughters and grandfather to one grandson.
Early life[edit]
Born to Howard Ray Daugherty Sr. and Mildred Moorer Daugherty, Howard was the light of his parents’ and truly the whole town’s life as the women in his family would famously gather every morning around his crib to watch him wake up.
He grew up in McIntosh surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins, and was joined a few years later by his double first cousin Bobby Daugherty who participated in many of his shenanigans around town with him and his cousins Dean and Morris Daugherty.
Much of Howard’s early life was also spent with his grandfather Edward Ray Daugherty, aka E-Ray, sojourning through the river swamp where E-Ray was a logger and took Howard with him to hunt and work. The Tombigbee River swamp would be the setting for many of Howard’s famous stories and the eventual location of the World Famous Daugherty Houseboat.
In 1956 E-Ray purchased some land in an up and coming coastal town known as Gulf Shores, Alabama, and there Howard would go on to meet many lifelong best friends including Mike Micelli. E-Ray, Howard Sr., and young Howard Jr. worked hard to build the Daugherty family legacy known simply as “The Cabin” which is still enjoyed by several generations of Daughertys today as well as countless family friends and relations.
Howard Jr’s parents went on to give him two younger siblings, Jane and Thomas, and his parents and they moved to Cleveland Tennessee when he was a senior in high school. Given his varsity status in football, baseball, and basketball at Leroy High School, he had to stay behind with E-Ray and Victoria to finish out his senior year. After this Howard went on to Auburn University where many more good times were had and best friends were made.
Professional career[edit]
At Auburn University Howard would meet his beloved wife and the mother of his daughters, Donna Dickey, as well as several of his closest lifelong friends, many of whom were also fraternity brothers from Theta Chi.
After a fruitful and fun college experience, Howard graduated and went on to be a part of the integration of McIntosh High School. There he worked hard to win the trust of the black community and worked as a teacher, a bus driver, and eventually a coach of many of the school’s sports teams. As their head football coach Howard inspired many great young men to success on and off the field.
Howard finished a Master’s in Economics from the University of South Alabama then went on to accept a position as the Director of the Washington County School Board’s Vocational and Career center as well as their county-wide school vocational and technical programs. As his final position in education, this opportunity allowed him to travel throughout the county and state and contribute to the lives of students throughout Washington County. He retired in 2005.
Personal life[edit]
When Howard was a student at Auburn University he met his second wife Donna Dickey, but they would not marry until many years later in 1981. Howard’s first child was born on Christmas Day 1982, Jane Carol Daugherty, and she was the light of her parents’ world.
A few years later in 1986, Caitlin Gaye “Katie”, joined the party, and their family was complete. They spent many happy years in their log cabin home in McIntosh with weekends often spent at The Cabin in Gulf Shores. Tragically, Donna passed away after a long battle with cancer in 1995.
Fortunately life had more in store for the family, and a few years after Donna’s passing Howard was blessed to meet Linda Ivey. They would go on to marry in 2003. Linda would bring her son Grayson Capps and eventually his children Sadie and Waylon, Howard’s first grandchildren, into his life, as well as Grayson’s longtime partner Trina Shoemaker.
One of Howard’s proudest roles has been as father. Jane and Katie went on to graduate from their parents’ alma mater Auburn University in 2004 and 2008, respectively. They both later received master’s degrees from Auburn University, the University of Alabama, and Georgia Institute of Technology.
Both Jane and Katie have been blessed with loving families of their own. Jane is married to Josh Beech and is stepmom to his son, Ender, and they live in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Katie is married to Speros Kokenes, and they and their son Constantine “Costa” live in Atlanta, Georgia. Howard’s new favorite role is definitely Costa’s “Gee Gee”.