Charles Calvert Montgomery

Stuart engineer Calvert Montgomery passed away on Wednesday, May 6 in Stuart. Cal was born in Miami in 1930, the youngest of 5 children of Wayne T. and Wilhemina Montgomery. He had an energetic and exciting boyhood, excelled in sports, accompanied his father and uncles on snake-catching trips into the Everglades, could hold his weight with elders on a construction site, tended and rode his own horse, and more. He played point guard on the state-champion Edison Red Raiders basketball team of 1949. After high school, Cal attended the University of Florida for engineering studies, but returned home between terms to woo Jean Elizabeth Escott of Miami and FSU. They wed after Dad’s graduation in 1953, after which they stayed at Gainesville for Cal to obtain a Masters Degree.

Military obligations sent them to Eglin Air Force Base at Ft. Walton after finishing at UF. Upon discharge, Cal partnered with his father as a home building contractor at Ft. Walton, but that venture ended with the sudden death of his father in 1958. Seeing opportunity in Stuart, he and Jean and their first-born moved here in 1959 where Cal joined the surveying/engineering partnership of Joseph Greenlees and Ben Arbogast. That partnership, later C. Calvert Montgomery and Associates, became a leading Stuart engineering firm. Son Scott and son-in-law David Brown eventually joined the firm, along with long-time stalwarts Fred Jette and Arthur Speedy. Over the years, company projects included the major expansion of Martin Memorial Hospital, Witham Field upgrades, South Fork High School, Jensen Beach High School, several elementary and middle schools, re-design of Langford Park, road and bridge projects, and numerous private projects serving the growing County.

Away from the job, Cal was a loving family man, husband to Jean, and father to four children. He and Jean led the kids by their example of hard work, insistence on manners and learning, and Christian faith. From their arrival in Stuart they attended the 1st United Methodist Church. When kids’ interest arose, Cal could teach how to pass and punt a football, throw a curveball, shoot a basketball, water-ski (usually behind his self-built cruiser), catch a stringer of fish, and perform all manner of skilled carpentry and landscaping. For leisure, they retreated most summers to the extended family’s cabin in the mountains of North Carolina.

Jean passed away in June, 2025. Cal is survived by sons Brent (Terry) of Vero Beach, Scott (Kim) of Stuart, Craig (Michelle) of Tampa, and daughter Ann Brown (David) of Stuart. Also survived by 8 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Cal also leaves a tight-knit group of now-seasoned nephews, nieces and their spouses, who held him in the highest regard.

Burial will be at Fernhill Gardens in a private graveside service. The family requests that those so inspired would make donations to the Alzheimer's Association of America.

A Committal Service will be held at Fernhill Memorial Gardens & Mauso, 1501 South Kanner Highway, Stuart, FL 34994, US, on May 16, 2026, at 12:00 pm.