CAPE VINCENT, NY —Â Elwood W. Calhoun, 90, passed away Saturday afternoon, July 18, 2021, at his home in the town of Cape Vincent.
He was born Feb. 2, 1931, in Gananoque, Ontario, Canada, a son of Lewis J. and Helen E. Robinson Calhoun. He grew up on Grindstone Island and moved to the mainland in Clayton in his teenage years.
He served in the US Army Reserves from Jan. 20, 1950 to March 6, 1953 and was on active duty with the Army from Sept. 15, 1950 to April 18, 1952, serving in Korea.
Elwood worked as a heavy equipment operator, 20 years for Laidlaw, Evans Mills, and retired from Carlisle Sand and Gravel, Clayton. He was an almost 70 year member of the Clayton American Legion Colon-Couch Post 821.
He was an avid outdoorsman – hunting, fishing, trapping, gardening, and was also a pilot, owning his own airplane. He enjoyed and was skilled at building and fixing anything.
Elwood loved his family and will be missed by his beloved dog companion, Buddy.
He is survived by his life partner, Kathryn Garnsey; three children, Dawna and William Kinne, Pulaski, Jeanie Calhoun, Cortland, and Gregory and Jennifer Calhoun, Clayton; three step children, Lisa and Gary Cooper, OR, Kim and Joe Robles, Albany, and Jeff and Julie Garnsey, Clayton; 19 grandchildren and 35 great grandchildren and great great grandchildren; four siblings, Doreen Meeks, Clayton, Gloria Thibault and Carol and Wilson “Bill” Hackett, all of Dexter, and Ronald and Norma Calhoun, Clayton; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Along with his wife, Elwood was predeceased by three children, William Calhoun, Sandra Stone, and Mary Jane Cunningham; stepson Joey Garnsey; and four siblings, Ray, Paul, and Keith Calhoun and Selma Kirkland.
Elwood’s life will be celebrated 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 31, at O’Brien’s Restaurant, Clayton.
Arrangements are entrusted with Cummings Funeral Service, Inc., Clayton.
Online condolences to his family may be posted at www.cummingsfuneral.com.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to SPCA of Jefferson County, PO Box 531, Watertown, NY 13601.