Calvin Innerarity

Calvin (Junior) Innerarity, 70, of Cambridge, former pilot, scenic carpenter, and consummate storyteller, passed away peacefully on Monday, December 9, 2024, after a long illness, with his loved ones by his side.

Born in the mountainous country of Moravia, Clarendon, Jamaica, Cal grew up under the care of his grandmother, the village doctor. He was nine when he flew to Boston with an older cousin to begin a new life with his mother and stepfather in Boston's South End. There he quickly acclimated to public school, moving on to a spot at the top of his class at Boston Technical High School. Enrolling in Tufts University outside Boston, he worked his way through college as a mechanic and auto body technician and graduated in 1977 with a degree in economics.

While at Tufts, Cal, with his sonorous baritone voice, discovered a gift for seamless song transitions, spinning discs every Friday night as a radio DJ. Host of the first all-reggae show in the area, Cal held a slot at WMFO on and off for some fifteen years. At Tufts, he also met his wife-to-be, Teri Keough, mother of his daughter and "best friend" Rachael Innerarity, born in 1983.

Over the years, Cal, a Renaissance man, engaged in a variety of careers, even as he never stopped learning. His love of airplanes led him to Florida in 1986, where he worked as an airline mechanic while obtaining his private and commercial pilot licenses. When a back injury grounded him and kept him from his dream, Cal moved back to Boston in 1988 and forged ahead in a new direction. He merged creativity with an aptitude for building things to become a scenic carpenter at several area theater companies, including Wheelock Family Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, North Shore Music Theatre, and Harvard's American Repertory Theater (ART). He also offered an innovative course in robot building at the Charles River Creative Arts camp in Dover.

One more turn of direction was to come in 2009, when Cal returned to Jamaica for four years to care for his ailing mother. Drawing on his gift of the gab, his sense of humor, and his love of people, he commanded a tour bus and ran a bed and breakfast in the beautiful Oracabessa, a stone's throw from James Bond Beach.

After returning to Boston, Cal, now in semi-retirement, continued to offer his carpentry and fix-it skills while taking care of those he loved (he was always the first to bring a plate of home-cooked food to the hospital or offer a ride to anyone in need). He was loved by virtually everyone he encountered, from neighbors to store clerks to the stranger whose car he got started on a cold winter morning. Most of all, Cal is beloved and dearly missed by his family.

He is survived by his daughter, Rachael Innerarity; his former wife, Teri Keough; sisters-in-law Barbara Daley and Joy Forbes; brother-in-law Peter Keough and his partner Alicia Potter; nephews Jae Forbes, Lee Forbes, Michael Daley, Ryan McDonough and wife Jill Provost, and Sean Daley and wife Erin; niece Kathleen Kearnan and husband Paul; and several great-nieces and great-nephews. His sister-in-law Susan Donnelly passed away in June. Cal is predeceased by his mother, Hazel Forbes, his father, Aldwyn Innerarity, his stepfather Harry Forbes, and his beloved younger brother, Hoyt Forbes.

Please visit www.Cinnerarity.com, a website his family put together to honor Cal's legacy with his memoirs, a slide show, photos, tributes, music, and more. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Calvin Innerarity Memorial Fund through a link on the website above. If you would prefer to mail a check, please write "Calvin Innerarity Memorial Fund" in the memo and send it to Cambridge Community Foundation, 99 Bishop Allen Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139.