Roll Call Tribute

Callaway-Jones Funeral Home and Crematory obituary
3001 S College Avenue
Bryan, TX 77801,
United States
Phone: (979) 822 3717
Email: cjones@callawayjones.com

Mason Lee “Red” Cashion, Jr.
Red Cashion
Mason Lee “Red” Cashion Jr.
November 10, 1931 – February 10, 2019

Red Cashion, beloved husband of Marie Elaine Cashion, passed away on February 10, 2019. Red, a retired NFL referee, was best known for his famous “FIRST DOOOOWWWNN” call, sent out over national television screens in an instantly recognizable Brazos Valley drawl.

Red’s connection with the Brazos Valley began at birth: he was born on the Texas A&M Campus on November 10, 1931, where his father was the Secretary of the YMCA – a time when faculty was housed on the A&M Campus. Growing up on campus, Red made his first income letting Aggies arriving at Campus on the train “rent” his little red wagon to haul their luggage to the dormitories. Red always rode on top of the luggage!

Red grew up in a household where the plaque on the wall said, “Christ is the Head of this House. The unseen guest at every meal. The silent listener to every conversation,” Red lived that plaque. He lived a Christ-centered life and chose to live that life in the Brazos Valley. He spent many years as a member and elder at A&M Presbyterian Church, which his father helped to start, and later in life was a deacon at First Baptist Church of Bryan. Recently, Red and Marie have been members of A&M United Methodist Church.

After graduating from A&M Consolidated High School in 1949, Red attended Texas A&M on a baseball scholarship, graduating in May of 1953, at which time he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. (Red’s older brother Jimmie was the Texas A&M football quarterback, something that football card makers never did get straight: the card manufacturers always credited Red on football cards for Jimmie’s quarterback role at A&M, but Red never played football for A&M.) Red left the Army after four years, spending most of that four years around Washington, DC, and Fort Meade, where he served with the NSA. He was recalled during the Cuban Missile Crisis and briefed President Kennedy in 1963, something that he did not admit to even his family until just a few years ago.

Red has had a lifetime relationship with Texas A&M. It was a huge honor for Red that Texas A&M named the football officials’ locker room after him in 2003 (“Red Cashion Officials’ Dressing Room” at the North End of Kyle Field). As well, Red has been honored as a Texas A&M Distinguished Alumni (2003), Mays Business School Outstanding Alumni (2006), Fish Camp Namesake, a former member of the President’s Council, the 1990 main campus Muster Speaker, and at the time of his passing, Red was a member of the 12th Man Foundation Champions Council and a member of the Corps of Cadets Development Council. Red also served as a guest professor of insurance at Texas A&M. Red was active over the years in many different parts of University life: one of his favorites, which he Chaired up until his death, was The Association of Former Students’ Student Loan Trustee Committee.

Raising a family in Bryan-College Station during the 1960s and 1970s, Red started in business with his father-in-law, Hershel Burgess, and Red’s best friend from rival high school days, Dick Haddox (a Navasota Rattler). Their insurance business, Burgess, Cashion & Haddox, eventually merged with and became ANCO Insurance, which survives and thrives today. Red served as Chairman Emeritus for many years at ANCO.

Red’s father-in-law also got Red interested in officiating football, and Red started officiating junior high school games while he was still in college. Beginning as a line judge in 1972, Red joined the National Football League, moving to the referee’s position in 1976, and eventually officiated Super Bowls XX and XXX, while serving as an alternate in two more. All told, Red served 25 years in the NFL, officiated over 500 games and 17 additional post-season assignments, was President of the Professional Referees Association and on its Executive Board for 10 years, was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, was named the NFL Referees Association Honoree in 2011, and received the Art McNally Award in 2015 (awarded at the Pro Bowl and given to an NFL game official who exhibits exemplary professionalism, leadership, and commitment to sportsmanship, on and off the field). For many years after leaving the field, Red was the referee’s voice on John Madden’s video football game Madden NFL. Red remained on the NFL payroll as a trainer of NFL referees until 2014, training new NFL referees in the art of keeping the game interesting and exciting. Since his last NFL retirement, he has continued to work with “his” referees on a volunteer basis. His family is so grateful for the calls and visits from his NFL friends during the last few months, as well as the many wonderful friends and neighbors who have been so supportive.

For a man who spent so many years traveling that he had lifetime platinum cards on multiple airlines, Red’s heart never left the Brazos Valley. He has a lifetime of awards for efforts on behalf of the communities of the Brazos Valley, including Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in 1964, Chairman of the Brazos County Industrial Foundation, Chairman of the Brazos County Association of Independent Insurance Agents, Chairman of the Region VI Education Service Center, Brazos County Volunteer of the Year in 1972, and Brazos County Citizen of the Year in 1994, presented to Red that year by President George H.W. Bush. Until just a few years ago, Red rang the bell and collected for the Salvation Army every Christmas.

Red is survived by his beloved wife, Marie Elaine Cashion, his children and their spouses, James H. & Mary Cashion, Sharon L. Cashion, Joyce & Bicker W. Cain III, and Shelley & Robert I. White. In addition, Red is survived by his six grandchildren, Caitlin & Joel Stibbe, Colter L. & Erica Cashion, Mason H. Cashion, J. Marshall Cashion, Cashion & Leslie Cain and Bicker W. Cain IV & Jennifer Cain, and four great-grandchildren, Maura & Thomas Stibbe, and Alexandra & Sophia Cain. In addition, Red is survived by his sister-in-law, Lila D. Cashion and her four children and their spouses, Paul & Jenny Cashion, Marilyn & Stan Speegle, Emily & Joe Endres, and Timothy & Teresa Cashion, and seven grandchildren, Andrew, Philip & Adam Cashion, Jeep & Vendie Endres, and Erin & Neal Cashion. Red had a special relationship with Marie’s niece and her husband, Monica and Schoen Maekawa, and nephew, Michael Echavez.

Red was predeceased by his loving wife of 47 years, Lou Burgess Cashion, his brother and hero, James T. Cashion, his parents, Mason Lee “Cash” and Winnie (Blakeley) Cashion, Sr., and his best friend and partner of over 50 years, Dick Haddox.

Special mention must be made of Red’s loyal caregivers, Russ Kilpatrick and Janeen & Don Wood, the wonderful medical professionals at Hospice Brazos Valley, the loving caregivers at The Parc at Traditions, and his and Marie’s long-time housekeeper, Tania Salazar.

A celebration of Red’s life will take place at 10:00 a.m. Monday, February 18, 2019 at A&M United Methodist Church. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Callaway-Jones.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Red to, A&M United Methodist Church, 417 University Dr. College Station, TX 77840, Texas A&M 12th Man Foundation, PO Box 2800 College Station, TX 77841, Texas A&M Student Loan Fund (Association of Former Students), 505 George Bush Dr. College Station, TX 77840, Hospice Brazos Valley, 502 W. 26th Street Bryan, TX 77803, CHI St. Joseph Regional Health Center, 2801 Franciscan Drive Bryan, TX 77802.

Express condolences at CallawayJones.com
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Callaway-Jones Funeral Home and Crematory services notice
3001 S College Avenue
Bryan, TX 77801,
United States
Phone: (979) 822 3717
Email: cjones@callawayjones.com

Mason Lee “Red” Cashion, Jr.

Mason Lee “Red” Cashion, Jr.
November 10, 1931 – February 10, 2019

Red Cashion, 87, of Bryan, passed away on Sunday, February 10, 2019, in Bryan. There will be a Celebration of Life at 10 a.m., Monday, February 18, 2019, at A&M United Methodist Church. His full tribute will be posted soon.

Services are in the care of Callaway-Jones Funeral and Cremation Centers of Bryan-College Station.

Express condolences at CallawayJones.com
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Former NFL referee and Bryan-College Station businessman Red Cashion dies at 87
By KENNY WILEY kenny.wiley@theeagle.com

(Published in) The (Bryan-College Station) Eagle (on) February 11, 2019

Mason L. “Red” Cashion, a Bryan-College Station businessman and longtime NFL official, died Sunday morning. He was 87.

Cashion was most known nationally for two words: His signature, drawled “First down!” call during NFL games. In his 2013 autobiography, he wrote that two other words — “You’re fired” — gave him the freedom and courage to make the infectious enthusiasm with which he refereed possible.

“I certainly hope you never have to hear those two words,” wrote Cashion, “unless, of course, they have the same wonderfully positive effect on your life as they did on mine. Being fired was definitely a life-altering event for me in a good way.”

The two words most synonymous with Cashion came to be, he wrote, because he was fired after one season as an official for the Southland Conference in the 1960s. His initial approach to officiating, he said, was to put forward a “dignified, detached, and stately” demeanor, but Southland Conference coaches said he seemed more aloof than anything.

He wrote that he would not have made it to the NFL if not for being fired — that it changed his perspective and pushed him to overhaul his work and life approach.

“I made a vow to live and work enthusiastically,” he said. “As I met people and interacted with people I already knew, I was stunned by how contagious enthusiasm is in day-to-day life.”

On Saturday, two of Cashion’s children — Joyce Cashion Cain, 62, and 55-year-old Jim Cashion — said in an interview that their father’s love of people extended beyond the gridiron and lived everywhere he went.

“He loved Texas A&M and he also loved Bryan-College Station,” Cain said. “He never met a stranger, and he always believed in the good in people. It didn’t matter your background.”

“He was an ambassador to the Bryan-College Station community. He loved the people here. And the glass was always half-full for him,” Jim Cashion said.

Cashion was born Nov. 10, 1931, at his parents’ home in College Station, and he ran track and played football, basketball and baseball at A&M Consolidated High School. He attended Texas A&M on a baseball scholarship and graduated in 1953. He was then commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

Cashion began his officiating career while finishing his undergraduate studies at Texas A&M. He retired from the NFL in 1997 after 25 years as an official, including 21 as a head referee. Cashion served as referee for Super Bowls XX and XXX.

After Cashion retired from the NFL, he served as chairman emeritus for ANCO Insurance in Bryan. During the 1960s and 1970s, Red went into business with his father-in-law, Hershel Burgess, who starred as a running back during A&M’s undefeated 1927 season, and Red’s best friend from high school, Dick Haddox. Their insurance business, Burgess, Cashion & Haddox, eventually merged with ANCO.

Cain said a less-known characteristic of her father was his business creativity and acumen. “He was very creative, and always looking for a way to make the insurance business better, and became extremely successful at that. He enjoyed figuring those puzzles out, and was never particularly happy with the status quo.”

Rusty Burson, who worked with Cashion on his 2013 book First Dooowwwnnn ... And Life to Go!: How an Enthusiastic Approach Changed Everything for the Most Colorful Referee in NFL History, said Friday evening that it was a joy for him to work with Cashion, and called him an excellent storyteller.

“He had so many stories and so many brushes with greatness,” Burson said. “He was an inspiring guy, and the favorite thing I learned about him was that he wanted to be an NFL official, and so he paid his own way to New York to the NFL offices with no appointment.”

Burson said the NFL didn’t initially have a spot for Cashion and sent him back to Texas empty-handed. Cashion got a call a few months after his impromptu visit from the NFL office, Burson said.

“The executive said to him, ‘Because you had come up here and showed that initiative on your own, we’d like to offer that position to you.’ That’s how he got started, and I think it’s an inspiring story of how when you really want something bad enough, you just go for it,” Burson said.

Cashion was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Younger generations of sports fans came to know him through the Madden NFL video game series, as he provided the voice of the virtual referee for several versions of the franchise.

Cashion was preceded in death by his wife of 47 years, Lou Burgess Cashion, in 1999.

He spent many years as a member and elder at A&M Presbyterian Church, which Cashion’s father helped start. Later in life, Cashion was a deacon at First Baptist Church of Bryan. Recently, Cashion and his second wife, Marie, had been members of A&M United Methodist Church.

Jim Cashion and Cain both said their father also helped people financially and otherwise behind the scenes to help with their education or business endeavors. “The spirit of hospitality was in the family,” Jim said. “He’s had an incredible life.”

In addition to Marie Cashion, Jim Cashion and Cain, Red Cashion is survived by daughters Sharon L. Cashion and Shelley Cashion White, and by six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A celebration of Cashion’s life will take place at A&M United Methodist Church on Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Callaway-Jones.