Terry Cavender, who was the athletic director at Camas High School from 2006 to 2012, died Thursday at his job in Puyallup. He was 67.
“We in the Puyallup School District are saddened to report the very sudden passing of Terry Cavender, PSD Director of Operations,” wrote Rick Wells, the director of health/fitness and athletics for the school district, in an e-mail sent Friday to other athletic directors. “Terry collapsed at work unexpectedly yesterday afternoon.”
Cavender had more than four decades of work in education and athletics, including a stint at Ridgefield High School in the 1970s.
Cavender resigned from Camas to return to the Puget Sound area to be closer to family. He became the AD at Franklin Pierce High School before returning to the Puyallup School District. Cavender was the longtime AD for Puyallup schools before he moved to Camas. He also was an assistant executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
“Terry was one of those guys who approached everything with ‘How can we get this done?’ He cared about kids, and he mentored so many people,” said Mike Colbrese, executive director of the WIAA.
“He was one of those guys who knew how to build consensus and how to get things done, and he did it through developing teamwork,” Colbrese added. “He was a mentor and friend to a lot of ADs who are still in the business and will have an impact for a long time.”
In his six years at Camas, Cavender helped guide the athletic program into a state power. In his final year at Camas, every fall team sport reached the state tournament.
“It has been an awesome ride,” Cavender said when he resigned from Camas. “I’m certainly walking away with a number of positive memories.”
Cavender also was key in Southwest Washington’s successful bid to host the Class 4A and 3A boys and girls state golf tournaments the past two years.
“When you’re in Southwest Washington, you travel to a state tournament somewhere. Nothing’s happening in Vancouver,” he said in an interview with The Columbian in 2013. “We wanted to bring something to our corner of the state.”
Wells’ email to the athletic community members asked to keep Terry’s family and friends in their prayers.
