Sid Haton, the University of South Florida's first marching band director and who orchestrated the first appearance of the Herd of Thunder, died Friday in North Carolina. He was 45.
Haton died in his office at Gardner-Webb University, a Christian college in Boiling Springs, N.C., where he served as athletic bands director and music instructor. A coroner said the cause of death was hypertensive heart disease.
Haton came to USF in 1999 to develop a marching band, just two years after the university began its football program. He was known then as an ambitious recruiter, visiting high school after high school to field his musicians.
By its first performance, the marching band, known as the Herd of Thunder, had nearly 200 musicians. It made its debut in USF's home opener against Southwest Texas State University on Sept. 11, 1999.
Haton stayed with USF through 2002 before taking a job as band director with Charleston Southern University in South Carolina. In 2006, Haton left for Gardner-Webb to do what he accomplished at USF - start a marching band from scratch.
Today, that band has 108 students, said Patricia Sparti, chairwoman of the fine arts department at Gardner-Webb.
"He would go to all the schools and establish relationships," Sparti said. "He was passionate about what he did. He built an amazing marching band."
Haton is survived by his wife, Sydney Brown, an assistant professor of education at Gardner-Webb, whom Haton met in his first week at the university.
Sid Haton
AGE: 45
DIED: Sept. 12
OCCUPATION: Athletic bands director for Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, N.C.
FAMILY: Wife, Sydney Brown
MEMORIAL SERVICES: 3 p.m. today at Boiling Springs Baptist Church
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