Henry Baskerville

1943 - 2026

Henry Baskerville

April 18, 1943 - February 28, 2026

Henry Baskerville, 82, of Montpelier, died on February 28, 2026. He was predeceased by his parents, Henry Coleman Baskerville and Mary Virginia Pegram Morton Baskerville. He is survived by his sisters, Virginia Baskerville Maloney and Ethel Baskerville Powell; sons, William Henry Lee Baskerville, Charles Gregg Baskerville (Ana), and Matthew Taylor King; and one granddaughter, Stella Beatrice Baskerville. He is also survived by Melanie Camille Anderson Baskerville, mother of Lee and Charles, and Susan Lovell King, mother of Matthew.

To call Henry a "Renaissance man," as many did, if anything risks understatement. He received his B.A. in music from the University of Virginia and enjoyed both performing and composing. (His final composition was a fugue for organ.) As a young man, he tuned pianos, took up farming, served in the Army National Guard, and maintained a private pilot's license with an instrument rating.

Eventually, he realized his calling was as a shotgun-shooting instructor. In this connection, he served as President of the Newtown Hunt Club and as Program Chairman at Cavalier Rifle and Pistol Club. He also spoke fluent French and conversational Afrikaans-useful over decades of navigating the safari industry in southern Africa.

Above all, Henry considered himself a teacher. He taught thousands of students over the years through his business, Cavalier Sporting Clays, and had an intuitive grasp of their individual psychology, motivations, and needs. Nothing thrilled him more than to see a beginner student break a clay for the first time. To students who spotted him around town and on hunts, he was a celebrity, instantly recognizable in his trademark cowboy hat.

Henry was equally at home amid the Kalahari sands, the Argentine pampas, the châteaux of the Loire, and the wild places of central Virginia. An inspired raconteur, he maintained that embellishment was the better part of storytelling.

If Henry lived a charmed life, it was not for lack of hardship, but due to his buoyant outlook. Like the Apostle Paul, Henry knew the secret of being content, whatever the circumstance.

Those who loved Henry will miss his warmth, generosity, kindness, and booming bass voice. Somewhere over Jordan, we trust the skeet are flying and that sonorous voice is once again calling "PULL!"

The memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 17, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 903 Forest Avenue. The service will also be live-streamed (trinityumc.net). A reception will follow in Powhatan. Memorial contributions may be made to the Goochland 4H Shooting Education Club* or the Cavalier Safety and Education Foundation**.

*Treasurer of Virginia Tech, Memo Line Goochland 4H Shooting Education Club, 1961 Shallow Well Rd., Manakin-Sabot, VA, 23103

**Cavalier Safety and Education Foundation, 64 Miller Dr., Bumpass, VA, 23024