Reginald Gonzaga Vaiyon Caphart

Reginald Gonzaga Vaiyon Caphart was born on June 5, 1957, in Seonkpa, Mount Barclay, Margibi County, Republic of Liberia, unto the union of Isaac “General Cape” Caphart and Menzohn Sundaymah Bartooh Caphart.

Reginald, affectionately called Vaiyon by his family and Reggie or Gonzaga by his friends, grew up in a family of many siblings and extended family members whom he loved dearly.  During his formative years in Brick Camp One, Harbel, his father, his maternal grandmother and his elder brother George were key influences on the paths he would take. His father’s use of (what Reggie later came to know as) the laws of physics in his job as a heavy duty tow-truck driver for the Firestone Plantation Company (Firestone), influenced Reggie to pursue engineering; his brother George’s love of music led him to have a passion for music which made him the legendary DJ that he became; and his grandmother’s love, loyalty and friendship led Reggie to be the loyal friend he was to many.

Reggie received his early education from the Karlong School in Firestone, Mt. Barclay Elementary School, and the Broad Street Elementary in Monrovia.  He continued his education at the Owensgrove Junior High School and then the Harbel Junior High School in Firestone. Reggie matriculated to Carroll High School in Grassfield, Yekepa, Nimba County, Republic of Liberia, graduating as class valedictorian.

After completing high school, Reggie relocated to Monrovia to study engineering at the University of Liberia with academic scholarships from Firestone and the Liberian-American-Swedish Mining Company (LAMCO) of Yekepa. Reggie was a brilliant mind who also loved a good time. His love of music led him to establish his own radio station, operated out of his dormitory and dedicated primarily to playing music. As was done with his secondary education, Reggie completed his college education with honors.

His academic accomplishments led to support from his professor and mentor, Dr. Ntungwa Maasha to apply for admission to the College of Engineering at Dr. Maasha’s alma mater, Columbia University in New York City.  He was accepted and awarded an academic scholarship to obtain a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Columbia.  Reggie moved to the United States attained his Master’s from Columbia and called New York City home until his passing.

Reggie was a humble person and not one to brag on himself or point out his many accomplishments.  His life was also dedicated to public service. His public service began with assisting in the supervision of the expansion of the White Plains Water Treatment Plant in Liberia with two fellow engineers and friends William G. Nyanue and N. Hun-Bu Tulay, under the aegis of the Liberian Water and Sewer Corporation.

Reggie continued his public service in his adopted home beginning with his employment as a City Planner in the New York City Department of City Planning in February 1988. He later worked as a Civil Engineer at the NYC Department of Transportation and eventually transferred to the Topography Department of the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President where he rose to Assistant Chief Engineer – a position he held until his retirement due to illness in June 2017. During his tenure as a New York City public servant, Reggie worked on noteworthy projects including serving on the Stakeholders Advisory Committee for the Kosciuszko Bridge Project focused on improving the bridge and its connections to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Long Island Expressway Interchange in Queens; and the NYS Geographic Information System Strategic Planning Project to support the New York Statewide Spatial Data Infrastructure.  He also served as President of Chapter 19 (Borough President’s Offices) of the Civil Service Technical Guild/Union Local 375, DC37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, New York City.

Reggie never lost his passion for music. He was a Civil Engineer by day and a DJ by night and weekends, providing his DJ services under his entertainment venture, Pekin-Pekin Productions.  His extensive music collection was built over three plus decades, beginning with weekly pay-day purchases from J&R Music World, close to his office in lower Manhattan, and continued over the years with CD purchases and digital downloads.  His friends’ many remembrances include promised CDs of specific music that never made it to their hands and the jokes he would greet them with before they could ask him when they could expect their CDs, or his love of photography which also sometimes ended without him sending them promised copies of pictures.

Reggie leaves to mourn his passing his children, Togar, Trokon (Hawa), Gardea (Sianeh), Feeta Janjay, and Vaiyon Youjay; his siblings, Martha, Emma, Nathaniel (Shirley), Richard (Christiana), Randolph, Jehu, and Mardea; and a host of relatives, friends and well-wishers.

He was predeceased by his parents, Isaac and Menzohn Caphart; and his siblings, Dekontee Caphart Elliott, George Gbono Caphart, and Jonathan Tetelmah Caphart.

He was a devoted and loving father to his children and a loyal friend to many. He will be sorely missed. 

May his soul rest in perfect peace and may light perpetual shine upon him.

A video of his funeral mass is available here through August 28, 2022:

https://boxcast.tv/view/in-loving-memory-of-reginald-gonzaga-vaiyon-caphart-gwjn1aelhg4eylmzkcmm