Reflections of Mr. Hampton, St. Augustine Band Director, with Fr. John Raphael, Principal

It is with great sadness that St Augustine High School announces the death of our beloved and legendary Band Master, Mr. Edwin Harrell Hampton. Mr. Hampton passed away in his sleep on the morning of July 21, 2009.

St. Augustine has lost a man who is synonymous with the excellence of St. Augustine High School; a man whose genius was an integral part of the excellence of St. Augustine. No mere words can capture the man and the impact he had on thousands of young men who passed through the ranks of the Marching 100, and on the immense throng of people who were inspired, edified and entertained by the precision marching style which he designed, perfected and which propelled the St. Augustine High School Band to its prominence.

Mr. Hampton devoted his entire life to St. Augustine. Since he arrived in 1952, St. Augustine, its students, and its music program were his life. No member of the band left St. Aug without directly impacted by a man who embodied and imparted discipline, pride, perfectionism, in a word, excellence.

His students are all over the world. They are musicians, teachers, electricians, surgeons, lawyers, priests, ministers, teachers, firemen, police officers, politicians, accountants, and every other kind of occupation. They are men of varied talents and interests, but they all have in common the mark of being under the tutelage of the master!

Mr. Hampton was immediately recognized by all wherever the band went. Even in the years after Hurricane Katrina, everyone wanted to see Mr. Hampton whenever the band performed.

Although he retired after the storm, Mr. Hampton never left St. Aug. Even as his health began to decline, he would continue to come to the school as often as he could, to oversee the band during practice and to evaluate their performance at football games and Mardi Gras parades. Mr. Hampton lived St. Aug and he loved St. Aug with every fiber of his being.

A faithful Catholic, this great man, this towering figure, this indelible influence on the character and culture of St. Augustine High School has now been called to his heavenly reward. We love him, we mourn him, we will miss his presence, we will forever honor His memory, but most of all we now entrust him to the merciful hands of the God who created, redeemed, and sanctified him, and has now called him to his eternal rest. We pray that God will make us worthy of the gift which He has shared with us through the life and legacy of Mr. Edwin H. Hampton, Band Master, St Augustine School!

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. AMEN