Ruth Elizabeth Calhoun

On Saturday, June 1, 2013, Ruth Elizabeth Huston Calhoun passed peacefully from this life to the next. She had recently celebrated her 95th birthday and was living with a daughter and son-in-law in Maryville, Tennessee.

Mrs. Calhoun was preceded in death by her husband of 71 years, John C. Calhoun, Jr., by their son, John Huston, by her parents, Junius Denniston Huston and Emma Gault Huston, and by her brother, Francis. She is survived by three daughters and their spouses: Emily Calhoun and Robert Kerr of Boulder, Colorado, Mary Beth and Larry Towles of Maryville, Tennessee, and Ruth Ellen and David Whitt of Texarkana, Texas; four granddaughters and their spouses: Jenny and Greg Gideon, Erin Henneke, Carlynn and Geoffrey von Oeyen, and Emmy and Josh Nesbit; ten great-grandchildren: Jacob, Matthew, Anna, Joshua, Ellis, Jonathon, Elias, Caleb, Truett, and John; and two beloved cousins, Jinny Walker and Betty McKnight.

Mrs. Calhoun was born April 4, 1918, in rural Washington County, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Both of her parents’ families had immigrated to that area from Scotland prior to the Revolutionary War, and she grew up just "one or two farms away" from many of her relatives. Her childhood was spent on her family’s farm, and her early education was received in a small, rural schoolhouse. For high school, she traveled daily to attend Monongahela High School as a “tuition student” and eventually graduated valedictorian of her class.

Mrs. Calhoun attended Pennsylvania State University, where she received her B.A. degree. It was there that she met her future husband, John. They became life partners in raising four children, in travel throughout the world, in intellectual pursuits, and in nurturing their family as it grew to include three sons-in-law, four granddaughters and spouses, and ten lively great-grandchildren.

The Calhouns lived in College Station, Texas, for over 50 years. During that time, while her husband worked with Texas A&M, Mrs. Calhoun devoted herself to providing and supporting her children's many pursuits, as well as being an active member of the community. She participated in numerous service groups, including the local chapter of P.E.O. and as chapter president of the AAUW (American Association of University Women). She was an avid reader and – before Texas A&M became a co-educational institution – formed fast friendships and a readers’ group with women who shared her love of books, fiction, and poetry. For decades, she regularly collaborated with her husband in preparing the many public speeches he was asked to deliver.

In her very busy life, Mrs. Calhoun made time to ensure that all of her children had opportunities to participate in many extra-curricular activities. As her nest emptied and the University embraced women, she earned a Master of Arts degree in English literature from Texas A&M, along with the right to claim that she was the “only true Aggie” in the family. Her thesis on Willa Cather was published in 1968. Restricted from teaching at TAMU due to her husband's position, she shared her love of learning over the years as a virtual scholar in residence for the many groups who called on her for speaking engagements.

Mrs. Calhoun played the piano beautifully, and the family cherishes memories of the years of her accompaniments to her husband’s rich baritone and family choruses. She was an excellent seamstress who leaves many treasures of exquisite needlework and lovely dresses and costumes for generations of daughters and granddaughters. From chocolate chip cookies to grandmothering and beyond, everything she did embodied her belief that "any job worth doing is worth doing well."

Her daughters and their families will remember Mrs. Calhoun as a wonderfully accomplished, brilliant, generous and loving soul, whose devotion to family and sense of fun will be lasting legacies. Although her capacity for short-term memories declined in recent years, she retained to the end her marvelously impish and sharply sophisticated sense of humor that delighted family and friends.

The family wishes to extend special thanks to the many wonderful individuals who have attended so graciously to their mother's needs during the final months of her life in both Texas and Tennessee.

Visitation will be at the Memorial Funeral Chapel, 2901 Texas Avenue South in College Station, Friday, June 7th from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m., and a celebration of Mrs. Calhoun's life will be held Saturday, June 8th at 11:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church Bryan, at 1100 Carter Creek Pkwy. Interment will follow at the original College Station Cemetery, 2530 Texas Avenue South. Friends and family are invited to all gatherings.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in memory of Ruth Elizabeth Huston Calhoun, to the historic Revolutionary-era Mingo Creek Presbyterian Church, 561 Mingo Church Road, Finleyville, PA, 15332.