Calva Collier

COLLIER, CALVA KEPHART KEPPIE This is the day the Lord has made....let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm118.24 Calva Kephart Collier "Keppie" went to be with the Lord on April 8, 2013S after a courageous battle with lung and bone cancer. She is predeceased by her husband William Lee Collier.At her Stage IV diagnosis 3 years ago, her oncologist said she was "somewhere between a firecracker and a pistol" and that's how she lived her life. An energizer bunny filled with gusto, contagious enthusiasm, a "can do" philosophy, eternal optimism and an attitude of gratitude. She had a warm heart, a welcoming smile and her homes were a haven and gathering place for many. Fairfax brings memories of slumber parties, hot chocolate and grilled cheese sandwiches after sledding on the golf course, making hard candy at Christmas, greeting her daughter's boyfriends at the bedroom window in the middle of the night! Weekends at the Bay with water skiing, volleyball, cookouts, crab and clam feast, horseshoes, fireworks and fishing...catching 100's of Spot in one day and making us clean them all!!! Musical concerts with the pots and pans kitchen band!! Friends and friends of friends were always welcome. Calva Kephart was born on November 30, 1927 at DC Columbia Hospital for Women. She was an accomplished musician at 5 years old and won the Interstate Commerce Commission Talent Show playing the banjo/mandolin with her three brothers, Arnold, George and Bob. She graduated from Western High School in 1945 and from George Washington University with a major in Physical Education and Recreation in 1949 where she was an active participant in Varsity Soccer, Swimming, Softball, Hockey, Basketball and Rifle. Her merits included Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, President of Inter-Sorority Athletic Board, VP of Freshman Class, Secretary of Student council, Member of Pi Lambda Theta (National Honor Education Society), Daughters of the American Revolution, Individual Swimming Cup 47'; Mixed Doubles Bowling Cup, '48, Junior-Senior Athletic Award and Outstanding Senior in Chi Omega Sorority. She married her husband Bill on December 23, 1949 and was married for 51 years before his death February 26, 2000. She wore many hats...Homemaker, Kindergarten Teacher, Home Room Mother, Taxi Driver for 4 children, gardener, decorator, photographer and was the ULTIMATE REDSKIN AND NATS FAN!!! Worked as Head of Women's Athletics and Extra Curricular Activities at GWU from 1967 to 1973. Took great pride in starting the GWU Women's Crew Team in 1972 and purchased their 1st shell for $500 from Howard University. They named it "Keppie" to honor her. She was an accomplished photographer and exhibited her work in Annapolis and Key Largo. She always appreciated the beauty of God's creation and captured it thru her lens....in the sunrise shimmering like sparkling diamonds on the Chesapeake Bay, in a gaggle of geese flying in a V formation over the pier, in the daffodils and azaleas that blossomed around the house every spring and in the ripe luscious tomatoes and vegetables she grew in her garden. She saw it in Fred and Ethel's nest of sticks as they watched over and fed their babies. She saw it in the swans dancing on the shimmering blue ice of winter. She saw it in the bellowing sails of the Tall Ships plowing through the choppy waters of the Chesapeake Bay. She even saw God's beauty and appreciated his creation on a platter of blue crabs cooked and seasoned with Old Bay. At the end, she was surrounded by her loving family and her pictures that brought to mind all her wonderful moments and the beauty of a life well lived. She leaves behind her loving children, Susan, Bill, Tom and Joanne (Collier) Forch (John), her grandchildren; Matthew, Michael, Alecia, Cheryl Lynn Collier; Andy and Terry Forch and great granddaughter, Kaydence Collier, plus her loving nieces and nephews. We thank all the doctors, nurses and staff at St. Joseph Cancer Institute (Towson, Md.), the Hackerman Patz House, Hospice of the Chesapeake, Vitas Hospice, Cameron Glen Health and Rehab Center (Reston, Va.) and our cousins and friends who stopped by to see her and lift her up. She was our mother, our friend, our encourager and comforter and her memory will burn bright forever in our hearts. She did not want a funeral but a LIFE CELEBRATION PARTY to be held at the Bay sometime this summer. Anyone wishing to honor her memory make make a donation to any of the institutions above who made her life at the "shady side" of her sunset the best it could be or to a charity of their choice. Cards may be sent to Joanne Forch, 11200 Pavilion Court, Reston, VA 20194. She is at peace now, in the loving arms of God and dancing with the angels...let us rejoice!!!