William John Callnin

The family is planning a celebration of life in late spring and will send notice when the date is established.

William J. "Bill" Callnin of Virginia Beach passed away on December 31, 2025 at the age of 91. He was born April 16, 1934 to Frederick W. and Marian O'Byrne Callnin of Buffalo, New York. Bill was preceded in death by his parents and his stepfather, Fairfax G. Steele.

He is survived by his loving wife, Susan Pequignot Callnin, of Rochester, New York. Touchingly, Bill passed on their 65th wedding anniversary. He loved and was immensely proud of their family: Tiernie (Seth) of Norfolk, Virginia; Sean (Meme) of Denver, Colorado; Scott (Linda) of Scottsdale, Arizona; and Kathy of Virginia Beach; and seven grandchildren, Delaney, Sophie, Patrick, Matthieu, Bryce, Sara, and Gage and an eighth wonderful granddaughter, Stevie, who joined by marriage. Bill will never forget to mention his family Golden Retrievers, Bailey, Tulla and Ginger, who shared his and Susan's hearts and lives.

Bill was active in sports and served as student council president in his senior year of high school in Elmira, New York. He graduated from the school of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and served as a reunion chairman for his Cornell alumni class of 1956 for five consecutive reunions, and as president of the Cornell Hotel Society, the international alumni group of the Hotel School.

Bill completed Navy flight training in 1957 and served as Naval Aviator in several fighter squadrons. He thoroughly enjoyed accumulating over 3500 flight hours and 350 carrier arrested landings, most recently flying F-4 Phantoms. He was a member of Fighter Squadron Seventy-Four aboard USS Forrestal in 1967 when that ship suffered tragic fires and explosions off the Vietnam coast.

Following his Navy service, Bill acted for 10 years as a regional manager in the consulting division of a major accounting firm, with responsibility for 14 mid-Atlantic and northeastern states, leading his consulting group to revenues exceeding all other regions combined. He then co-founded Cayuga Hospitality Advisors, an international group of primarily Cornell Hotel School graduates consulting in the broad fields of the hospitality industries and served as its chairman and managing director for 25 years before selling the company to members and retiring in 2014. Bill's specialty was casino development and operations, taking him to five continents and often to his favorite region, the Caribbean. Acting as the casino expert on his clients' development teams, he led the casino design aspects in the development and building of nine casino resorts.

Memorial donations can be made in Bill's honor to The Wounded Warrior Project.