The Shadow
Reverend Roger Baroody
Reverend Roger Baroody died at his home in Covington on April 14,2026 following a short battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Cynthia Baroody. They moved to Covington in 2010 and were very active in the community. Reverend Baroody was a semi-retired Episcopal Priest and often conducted services at various Episcopal churches in Alleghany and Bath Counties. He was much loved by his parishioners and known for his interesting and thoughtful sermons.
Reverend Baroody was born in Beirut Lebanon in 1941 and moved with his parents to Lexington Virginia in 1946. He attended high school in Lexington and earned a BA in philosophy and mathematics from the University of Virginia. He was a research assistant at the University of Virginia Hospital and moved to the Nyack NY area in 1971 where he continued working in medical research at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in NYC. He felt the call of the church and received a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC in 1986. He was ordained an Episcopal Priest in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC in 1987. He served as the priest for a cluster of Episcopal churches in the Nyack area and pastor of Trinity Episcopal
Church in Garnerville, NY until he moved to Covington.
Roger was always very interested in the natural world was a true traditional naturalist. He explored many caves in Virginia and West Virginia and studied the biology, geology, and hydrology of these caves. He founded the West Virginia Speleological Survey in 1970. In the 1970’s he traveled with geologist field researchers to Ireland, Scotland, Patagonia, Tiera del Fuego, and Antarctica. He had a life-long interest in wildflowers and studied plants in South America. He also maintained a wonderful garden at their home in Covington. Roger and Cynthia became very active with the Virginia Master Naturalists program and worked on many different projects and as instructors. They were dedicated volunteers for the Cowpasture River Preservation Association and conducted water-quality monitoring on the Cowpasture River for several years. He worked on several hydrology studies in Bath County involving water tracing tests from area caves to springs.
In spite of his many serious hobbies and commitments to civic organizations, Roger’s first priority was always to his parishioners and many friends. He will be very much missed in our community.
In addition to his wife Cynthia, Roger is survived by two stepdaughters Erin Drost, husband Rob, grandchildren Cody, Kendall, Declan and Margaret (Maggie) and Tara O’Neil, husband Jeremy.
A memorial service to celebrate Roger’s life will be held on May 23. 2026 at 11am at Grace Episcopal Church, Lexington, Virginia.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the West Virginia Cave Conservancy, the Cowpasture River Preservation Association or Grace Episcopal Church.
