Caleb Southern

1969 - 2023

SOUTHERN, Caleb

Caleb August Southern of Atlanta, GA, passed away peacefully on Thursday, July 6, 2023 at the age of 53. His wife, sister, and a dear family friend were at his side playing Caleb's favorite music.

Caleb Southern was born in Chapel Hill, NC on December 26, 1969 to father David Southern and mother Susan Naumoff. David and Susan ran a typesetting and graphic design business, and were active in literary, artistic, and NC history circles. Their ramshackle Durham farmhouse, tucked away in the woods, was filled with books, music, and lots of cats. Caleb spent much of his childhood outdoors, climbing giant oak trees to the roof of the house as a toddler and swinging on branches with his Walk Man as a teen.

Music and computers were Caleb's passions his entire life. At 12-years-old, Caleb earned money to buy his first guitar by picking blackberries in the woods and selling them to a local organic grocery store. Around the same time a close family friend brought Caleb a special gift of a Sinclair ZX 81 Computer kit. A neighbor who was studying computers at Duke helped Caleb solder the kit together, and that began Caleb's fascination with computer technology.

During his time at Jordan High School, Caleb played in his first band, The Ledbetters. He even talked his way into landing a gig at the legendary Cat's Cradle in 1988. The Cradle and its owner Frank Heath would remain a central part of Caleb's life.

Caleb only applied to one college, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, winning the prestigious Brooks scholarship. As a UNC student, Caleb continued to play music and was hired as the house sound man at the Cat's Cradle. Caleb began recording local bands in the early 1990s, founding Kraptone Studios, where he produced legendary local bands Ben Folds Five, Archers of Loaf, Southern Culture on the Skids, Zen Frisbee, and Shark Quest, among others. His production of Whatever and Ever, Amen by Ben Folds Five became a gold record in 1998. With the success of Ben Folds Five, Caleb left college to tour with the band. He later returned to UNC and completed his degree in mathematics and computer science with honors.

By the early 2000s, Caleb shifted his focus to local advocacy, playing a critical role in the revitalization of downtown Durham. He was a founding member of the Arts and Business Council of Downtown Durham, served as a board member of Downtown Durham, Inc., and then sat at the table as a Durham Planning Commissioner. Although he had no formal training in urban planning or public policy, Caleb devised a solution for a 35-year-old transportation problem by proposing a connector that preserved local wildlife and natural spaces, linking North Durham to the Research Triangle Park with the "East End Connector" (now called 1-885). In 2002, Caleb won a Citizen Award from the Independent Weekly Magazine for this solution.

It was during this time, while strolling back to his apartment in downtown Durham, Caleb noticed a sign in the window of a small brick building on Main Street that read, "Coming Soon! Joe & Jo's Downtown Pub." Caleb became a Joe & Jo's regular, so much so that co-owner, Jo Worthington, couldn't remember at times if they accidently locked up the pub with Caleb still sitting inside at the bar. In 2004, Caleb and Jo unexpectedly became more than friends and remained together for the rest of his life. Ten years later they made it official and got married in Atlanta.

At 41 years-old Caleb was accepted into a PHD Program at the prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology in 2010. His research focused on Mobile-Human Computer Interaction, and he created the app Braille Touch, which allows visually-impaired people to text. He was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship in 2012. During his doctoral studies, Caleb discovered a passion for teaching the "crazy smart kids" at GA Tech. He especially loved to mentor students who needed support to feel they belonged. Caleb was beloved as a teacher and in 2022 won the College of Computing Award for Outstanding Instructor. In March 2023, Caleb served as faculty mentor for the first-place award winning students of the coveted Georgia Tech InVenture Competition. He was exceedingly proud of their achievement.

Caleb was preceded in death by his parents, David Southern and Susan Naumoff. He is survived by wife, Josephine "Jo" Worthington; his sister, Genevieve Southern; Genevieve's children, Stella and Max Coleff; Jo's sister, Christina Worthington-Rosado, nephew, Michael Eifler; and niece, Amber Chenault. Caleb is also survived by aunts, Carolyn Lerner, Elizabeth McCarthy, and Deborah Flynn; uncle Lawrence Naumoff; Jo's parents, Tom and Peggy Mobley; numerous cousins; wonderful friends; and his beloved cats, Mr. Stinky and Miss Fuzzy.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Atlanta's LifeLine Animal Project. A future memorial is being planned for the Chapel Hill, NC area.