CALVIN SINNETTE

1924 - 2021

Calvin Herman Sinnette  
Calvin Herman Sinnette was born in New York City on August 30, 1924. He attended St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School, Stuyvesant High School, and The City College of New York. In 1949, he graduated from Howard Medical School and married the love of his life, Elinor DesVerney. By the end of a two-year tour in the Air Force in Germany, he was father to daughters Caleen and Darryle. He returned to the U.S. and established a private pediatrics practice in Corona, Queens, New York. Calvin was a passionate golfer, an avid reader and a "race man." He and Elinor befriended many important cultural and political figures of the 60s. On February 21, 1965, Calvin was sitting in the Audubon Ballroom when Malcolm X was assassinated. Four months later, he packed up his family and moved to Nigeria to teach at the University College Hospital, in Ibadan. Subsequently he served at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, Columbia University, The University of Nairobi Medical School, and The Morehouse School of Medicine. He retired as Deputy to the Director of Health Affairs and Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics from Howard University in 1991. In retirement, Calvin completed Forbidden Fairways, a foundational book on the history of blacks in golf. In 2011, he was inducted into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame. Calvin was cremated on April 24, 2021. Due to Covid-19, a memorial service for Calvin and Elinor is on hold. For more information, please visit the Advent Funeral Home website at www.adventfuneral.com.