Eugene Joseph Calvasina

Eugene Joseph Calvasina passed away on Sunday, March 27, 2016, in Baton Rouge at The Carpenter House. He was born in Hattiesburg, MS, to Victor John Calvasina and Jean Marie Balcerski Calvasina on October 28, 1942. Eugene was a graduate of Salesianum High School in Wilmington, DE. He was also a graduate of the University of Mississippi, where he received a BA in Economics and Psychology, August 1965; MBA in Production Management, January 1968; and Ph.D. in Business Administration, fields in Production and Operations Management, MicroEconomics, Organization Theory and Policy, and Quantitative Methods, August 1974. He was a member of Phi Kappa Theta, Allied Academies, the American Society of Business & Behavioral Sciences, and a former member of The Baton Rouge Society of Human Resource Management. Eugene was passionate about teaching and his students, and was employed as a Professor in the College of Business at Southern University in Baton Rouge. He retired in 1995 from Auburn University in Montgomery, AL. He was formerly employed by Troy University in Troy, Dothan, and Fort Rucker, AL; Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC; the University of Southern Mississippi in Long Beach, MS; and the School of Logistics in Fort Lee, VA. He was also retired as a Lt. Col. in the U.S. Army Reserves. Gene is survived by his wife, Jane McKnight Calvasina; daughter, Lori Elizabeth Calvasina Sussman (Carl) of Brooklyn, NY; son, John Joseph Calvasina of Pittsburgh, PA; and grandson, Leo Maxwell Sussman of Brooklyn, NY. Additional survivors include his twin brother, Richard Calvasina (Glenda) of Cantonment, FL; brother, Gerald Calvasina (Karen) of Cedar City, UT; his mother-in-law, Emma Jean McKnight Whatley of Dothan, AL; an uncle, Edward Balcerski (Bonnie) of Longneck, DE; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, Victor and Jean Marie Calvasina; a daughter, Emily Carol Calvasina; father-in-law, Roy McKnight; and special cousin, Betty Nickerson. Visitation will be on Wednesday, March 30, 2016, at St. Jean Vianney Catholic Church, 16116 S. Harrell's Ferry Road, Baton Rouge, LA, from 9 am until Mass of Christian Burial at 10 am. Burial will be on Friday, April 1, 2016, at 11 am at Union Freewill Baptist Church Cemetery in Abbeville, AL. Pallbearers will be John Joseph Calvasina, Carl Sussman, Richard Calvasina, Gerald Calvasina, Michael Calvasina, Jason Calvasina, and Anthony Calvasina. Flowers will be accepted, or donations may be made to the Children's Hospital of Alabama, Dawn Pitchford Fund, c/o Sharon Likes, 1600 7th Ave. South, Tower 512, Birmingham, AL 35233, or to The Carpenter House of St. Joseph Hospice. Special thanks to Dr. Amy Shannon, Dr. David Hanson and staff, the staff at Our Lady of the Lake ICU, and to the staffs of St. Joseph Hospice and the Carpenter House.