Remembering Hoite C. Caston

By Mike Wood, Kansas, United States

Hoite Caston, who became a trustee of Urantia Foundation in mid-1986 and served through 1995, passed away on November 1. He was a remarkably interesting man who served during some interesting times. A professional writer, editor, director, and movie producer from Los Angeles, Hoite was a creative and energetic force. He loved to tell stories about his early days in Hollywood, including working with the legendary Mike Nichols on the set of Carnal Knowledge. He went on to work on numerous films and directed The Dirt Bike Kid. He spent many years working for HBO, directing Not Necessarily the News, for which he received the prestigious CableACE Award. He wrote, produced, and directed two documentary episodes for the History Channel’s Investigating History. He also wrote, directed, and edited over 1,000 commercials, many earning him awards.

I could better relate to his Kansas roots. In 1959, Hoite joined the Sigma Chi fraternity at the University of Kansas, where he met Richard Keeler, David Gray, Martin Myers, and Vern Grimsley. The five, jokingly referred to as the “Kansas Mafia,” all went on to become active in the work of the revelation.

Vern, who had recently learned of The Urantia Book from Meredith Sprunger, shared it with his fraternity brothers. After reading and studying together, they made numerous trips to Chicago where they met with Dr. William S. Sadler and Emma “Christy” Christensen. They were immediately accepted into the group of early readers. Hoite became an active member of the First Urantia Society of Los Angeles. He later joined the Missouri-Kansas Urantia Association—an organization that was chartered and licensed at our home back in 1998. Cathy Jones and Richard Keeler, who was president of Urantia Foundation at that time, were present for the occasion.

After retiring from his Hollywood career, Hoite returned to his childhood home in Independence, Kansas, where he lived in and restored the house that his grandfather built. He continued working as a writer, director, and editor for his company, Hoite Caston Productions, and spent a year teaching film production at the University of Kansas. He also served two terms on the Kansas Film Commission and became active in local politics.

I am so grateful for the many hours that I got to listen to this master storyteller. Hoite will be missed by all who knew him.

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