Lester A. Calhoun

Lester A. Calhoun, 90, a lifelong resident of New Bethlehem, died peacefully Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013, under hospice care in the Clarview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Sligo. Lester was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle and friend. He was born May 7, 1923, on the Calhoun Farm in New Bethlehem, Wayne Township, son of the late Robert L. and Mary Pearl (Sowers) Calhoun. Lester wed Elsie Marie Ellenberger Jan. 1, 1948, and they remained married for 47 years, until Elsie lost her battle with cancer in 1995. In addition to his parents and wife, Lester was preceded in death by brothers, Beryl (Carrie Rood) Calhoun and Donald Calhoun; sisters, Nancy Romaine Calhoun (George Damich) and Jane Calhoun Jewart; and brother-in-law, Edward Woodall. Lester worked alongside his father running the Calhoun Farm, which the family started in the 1840s, until taking over the dairy operation himself in the 1960s. He took great pride in his work and was universally regarded as a role model within the region for his standards of quality, responsibility and problem solving and also for the way he merged traditional farming practices with modern innovation. A member of a number of farm-industry organizations, Lester was vice president of Division Six of the Pennsylvania Young Farmers Association in the 1960s, received the Outstanding Farmer Award in 1971 from the Greater Kittanning Jaycees and was a director of Agway. He also participated with his father and brothers in the Calhoun Dairy bottling and delivery business from the 1940s until 1966, when a fire destroyed the barn. A man of a great many interests, Lester traveled extensively with Elsie, going on a number of foreign trips sponsored by university and farming programs. Among the countries they visited were England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Argentina. He was a voracious reader to the end and was a devoted and welcomed patron of New Bethlehem Public Library. He was noted for his generosity of time, resources and spirit and helped many in times of need. He was a lifelong supporter of Goheenville Presbyterian Church. Lester had a great respect for the animals he tended on the farm and a love for his many dogs though the years. He took very good care of the wild birds -- his birds -- that kept him company. Lester was greatly admired for his wit and intelligence. He brightened our lives with his unique sense of humor, which featured well-timed "zingers" delivered with his trademark sly grin. Lester's storytelling was legendary and all of his stories were accompanied by astute and enlightening editorializing designed to make the listener a little wiser about how the world really worked -- good or bad. He is survived by a sister, Jean (Calhoun) Woodall, of Pittsburgh; and three children and their families: daughter, Suzanne and husband, Mark, of Vermont, grandson, Matthew (Jennifer), of Denver, Colo., and granddaughter, Margaret, of Pittsburgh; son, David and wife, Barbara (Reedy), of New Bethlehem, granddaughter, Rochelle (Nick) Pierce and great-grandchildren, Leona, Gideon and Jackson, of Fredericksburg, Va., and granddaughter, Julie, of Blue Bell; daughter, Mary Ruth Calhoun and husband, William Fidalgo, of Orleans, Mass., and granddaughter, Mariah Fidalgo, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Lester also leaves sister-in-law, Beverly (Eberhart) Calhoun, of Emeral Isle, N.C.; brother-in-law, James Jewart, of Jamestown, Pa.; a great many nieces; nephews; other family members; friends; and acquaintances. The family wishes to thank the dedicated staff of Country Springs Personal Care Home; Clarview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Sligo; and Chad Shaffer, M.D., of the ACMH Primary Care Center in New Bethlehem. Calling hours will be held from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, 2013, at the SNYDER-CRISSMAN FUNERAL HOME, 200 South McKeen St., Kittanning. A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013, in the funeral home, with Pastor Alfred Reedy officiating. Private interment ceremony will take place in Glade Run Cemetery, Dayton. Anyone wishing to make a contribution in Lester's honor may do so to New Bethlehem Public Library; or to the hospice program of the Clarion Forest VNA Inc., Clarion. http://www.snydercrissman.com.