Calvin Emmett Stackhouse Jr.

Calvin Emmett Stackhouse, Jr., or Sonny to those who knew him, passed away peacefully in his sleep on March 30th, 2026 at the age of 89 surrounded by his family. Sonny was born and raised in Denver, CO where he lived all but the remaining 3 years of his life.

Sonny was born March 17th, 1937 the only son to Calvin and Maggie Stackhouse who also had a daughter, Betty, his sister and lifelong friend. He spent much of his childhood fishing and hunting in the Colorado woods.

He graduated from Manual High School in Denver at the age of 18 in 1955. He met his wife, Sharon Lee Wilson and married her when she graduated from South High School at the age of 19. Until his final days he referred to her as the prettiest girl from South High.

The young couple moved into a house on Shoshone street in Denver and had two sons, Jeffery Joseph Stackhouse, born in 1957 and Calvin David Stackhouse, born in 1960. They also purchased their forever home in 1960 on West Gill Place in Southwest Denver in April of 1960.

They were blessed to be close to many of their family including Betty and Wayne and their daughter Debbie. The two families often spent time together growing up and Grandpa talked fondly about these memories. When Debbie moved to Green River, Wyoming Grandpa and the family visited, often bringing their dune buggies along and going rafting.

Sonny always valued hard work and held his first job at a filling station as a teenager. Later in life he worked for the government as a draftsman and for an engineering firm as a surveyor. He then went to work for Perl-Mack, a construction company, as the superintendent of land development before starting his own construction company, StackHolm Construction in 1983 with his business partner Whitey Holmstrom. Jeff and David both worked for the family business and Sonny was proud to tell anyone who would listen about working with his sons and helping shape the infrastructure of Denver.

Jeff gave Sonny and Sharon their first grandchild Joshua Joseph in 1981 from his first marriage. He married Sharon Tunstall Walker in 1984 and they gave birth to Daniel Jens in 1985 followed by Jessica Lee in 1986.

David married Karen and gave birth to their son Jonathan followed by their daughter Brittany.

As Grandparents Sonny and Sharon were blessed to get to spend a lot of time with their grandkids both in the Denver area and on trips. They went camping together often and he taught his grandkids to drive in his dune buggy on dirt roads around Colorado, often at Camp Hale. He taught his grandkids how to drive a manual in his geo-tracker around Buena Vista where he also taught them how to golf, or drive a golf cart, at least. He always had a fishing license and enjoyed teaching them how to fish, and be responsible for the fish if they caught one. They went on family vacations with Dave and his family, one memorable trip was to Orlando where they visited Disneyworld.

In 1998 Sonny and Sharon purchased what they intended to be their retirement home in Buena Vista, CO. An old house on a beautiful piece of land abutting the river. With the help of his family and friends they rebuilt the old house into a beautiful new home which served as their mountain retreat for many years. After 59 years of marriage his wife Sharon Lee preceded him in death in December 2015.

In 2023 Sonny moved to Grand Junction with Jeff and Sharon where he was able to continue to live in his own home before time caught up with him. He will be laid to rest beside his wife at Crown Hill Cemetery in Denver, CO adjacent to his mom and dad on May 2nd, 2026. The service will begin at 2 PM and will be followed by a celebration of life.

Sonny is survived by his sons Jeff and David; their wives Sharon and Karen; his niece Debbie and her husband Lee and their family; his five grandchildren, Joshua, Daniel, Jessica, Jonathan and Brittany, their significant others and his 11 great grandchildren.