Thomas Earl Calhoun Jr.

Visitation will be held at Lloyd James Funeral Home on Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. Funeral services will be held at Marvin United Methodist Church at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct, 12, 2011, with interment to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Brian Calhoun, Brad Calhoun, Glen Calhoun, Ashley Calhoun and Clay Calhoun.

He was born in Tyler on Dec. 18, 1923, to Earl and Mary Calhoun. He attended elementary schools at Gary and Marsh before moving to Van where he graduated in 1940. He attended Marvin United Methodist Church prior to moving to Van, then again upon his return to Tyler in 1949. He began his professional life at the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company (Cotton Belt) where he worked for two years. On his 17th birthday, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. Basic training was at Sheppard Field, Texas; Engineers and Operations School in Denver, Colorado; and training for preparation to go overseas in Atlantic City, N.J. He arrived in Casablanca, North Africa, July 21, 1943, on the troopship Mariposa. He was assigned as clerk to the Mediterranean Air Transport Service Headquarters in Algiers, Algeria. After nine months in North Africa, operations headquarters was moved to Naples, Italy, where he was responsible for the payroll and employment of Italian civilians working for military headquarters. He made various flights on MATS C-47's in Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Greece, Egypt and Southern France for the purpose of finding living quarters for the enlisted men of all branches of the service. Hazardous activity included air raids by the Germans in Algiers and Naples, especially when the front lines were at Casino, only a few miles from Naples. After two and a half years overseas, he was discharged as a sergeant at Camp Fannin, Texas, on Nov. 28, 1945. While on active duty, he was involved in the European Campaigns of Casablanca, North Africa, Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, North Apennines, and Rhineland. He received decorations including the EAME Campaign Medal with four Bronze Stars, Good Conduct Medal, Meritorious Unit Award and the World War II Victory Medal.

While in Naples, Italy, he fell in love with his wife Tina. Leaving Naples without her was heartbreaking. Upon his return home they exchanged mutual agreements for marriage by telegram. Tina's sister had been dating a major in Italy who had previously returned to the States. In contact with him, they agreed to return to Italy to marry the sisters. The two men met in Tyler and traveled by train from Troup, to New York, where they caught the ship, the Gripsholm, bound for Naples. On Feb. 3, 1946, they were married at an Episcopal Church in Naples, Italy, by a British officer and an American captain. They honeymooned on the Isle of Capri. Civilian passage back to the U.S. was impossible at that time due to troops being sent home. He was able to get a civilian government job at a nearby base and after three months they boarded a ship loaded with war brides to New York and then on to Tyler (Troup) by train. He entered Tyler Junior College and later transferred to The University of Texas at Austin, where he obtained a Business Administration degree in 1949. He returned to his former employer, the Cotton Belt Railroad, and continued his career there until he retired as a district claims representative. He also continued his career in the Air Force Reserve, retiring as a major.

He and Tina are both members of Marvin United Methodist Church and The Crusaders Class. They have been happily married for 65 years. He is also survived by two sons, Mark A. Calhoun of Dallas, and Steven E. Calhoun of Tyler and his wife Debbie Calhoun; four grandsons and a granddaughter, Brian Calhoun, an attorney in Dallas; Brad Calhoun, in the music business as a producer, song writer and musician in Austin; Glen Calhoun, following in his father's footsteps in the oil business in Shreveport, La., and wife Jeri and children, Cesalie and Jared; Ashley Calhoun, a recent graduate of the University of Colorado and now in Dallas; and Clay Calhoun, a student at the University of Texas at Tyler; two great-grandchildren by Brian Calhoun and his wife Lisa, Annalee Calhoun and Luke Calhoun.

Tommy Calhoun was more than a devoted husband and father. Tina Calhoun was the one and only love of his life. He embodied the meaning of "Pa Pa" and was a true friend to many. The Tyler Courier Times did a full-page story of his life together with Tina on the celebration of their 50th anniversary for the Valentine's Day edition of the paper. They were truly symbolic of the country's Greatest Generation.