Calvin Shoemaker

1923 - 2020

September 28, 1923 - June 9, 2020 Calvin Dewey Shoemaker passed on June 9, 2020 in Claremont, California aged 96. Cal is survived by his sons David (Robin), Denis (Nancy), and Stephen (Julie), and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife Marcelle Shoemaker, mother Elizabeth Belle Clendenon, father Albert G. Shoemaker, son James (Paula), and his brothers and sister. Cal was born on September 28, 1923 in Cottage Hill, Alabama. Cal joined the US Navy at the onset of WWII, and became a naval aviator. He soon met the love of his life, Marcelle Senecal, and they married and located in Westchester, CA. Cal continued to serve in the Naval Reserve as a pilot, and became an experimental test pilot for Douglas Aircraft Corporation in Los Angeles and Edwards AFB. He performed test work during the new jet age of aviation on a wide variety of carrier based fighter aircraft, including the A4 Skyhawk. Cal was a graduate of renowned Class XII of the Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, MD. He continued his career at Lockheed and the USAF. He continued to pilot his personal airplane with Marcelle at Torrance Airport well into his 80's. Cal was inducted into the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame, and was a founding member and Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP). Cal and Marcelle raised four sons and provided superb guidance, education, and support. Cal's life was very full, with personal and professional forays into countless arenas across the globe. We all remember Papa as a supportive father, husband, grandfather, and uncle who always put family first. Perhaps his greatest legacy was to instill the value of unfailing integrity into his family for generations to come. Fly now to even higher heights Dad! Cal will be interred at Green Hills Memorial Park, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.