The Gaithersburg Community Mourns the Loss of Wilson “Lee” Faris; Known By Many as “The Voice of the Cougars”

Wilson “Lee” Faris, Jr., (also known as “Poppy”), 77, passed away on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 after a two-year battle with ALS. Many may know Faris as “The Voice of the Cougars” where he spent more than two decades as the announcer of every home game of the Quince Orchard High School football team.

Quince Orchard athletics shared the news of his passing via social media, “It is with great sadness that I share the passing of Mr. Lee Faris. He was the voice of Cougar Football for over 2 decades and is in the QO Athletics Hall of Fame. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”

Quince Orchard football head football coach John Kelly wrote “Very sad to hear about the passing of Mr. Lee Faris. If you have been to a QO football game in the last 2 decades you know the voice. Lee loved the Cougars. Going to miss him and his famous line to start each game. “Let’s play some Cougar football”. RIP.”

Gaithersburg mayor Jud Ashman wrote, “Spent a lot of years at QO games with Lee Faris in the booth doing the PA announcing – and me at the top of the stands, in front of him. Over those years, we forged a friendship on our shared love of the school, the team, and the community. I will definitely miss him.”

Per his obituary, “He was born in Richmond, Virginia on July 3, 1946 to the late Wilson Lee Faris, Sr. (1996) and Edna Gatliff Sutton (2012). He spent most of his childhood living in the Alexandria, VA area. Lee was a proud graduate of the University of Richmond class of 1968 and a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Lee and his young family moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland in 1978. He has been an active and vocal member of the Gaithersburg community for nearly 50 years. He spent the last 17 years working at the Lowe’s in the Kentlands as a kitchen designer, where he made many wonderful friends. From 1994 to 2019, he was better known as “The Voice of the Cougars”, as he was the announcer for every home game of the Quince Orchard High School Football team. He took great pride in that role, and at his retirement, the City of Gaithersburg designated January 5th as “Lee Faris Day”. In 2022, he called his final football season at St. John’s Catholic Prep in Buckeystown for his grandson’s (Owen) senior year.

Lee was an avid historian, specifically of the Civil War and WWII. He enjoyed hiking, camping, Sci-Fi movies, and collecting movie and TV props. He also loved college football, and enjoyed those seasons with his daughters who attended the University of Alabama, James Madison University, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Mississippi.”

The full obituary can be seen here.

It is with great sadness that I share the passing of Mr. Lee Faris. He was the voice of Cougar Football for over 2 decades and is in the QO Athletics Hall of Fame. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time. @QOHSPrin_Thomas @QuinceOrchardHS pic.twitter.com/QPPCtGrGAo

— Quince Orchard Athletics (@QOAthletics) March 29, 2024