Calvin William Tackett

Calvin William Tackett Calvin William Tackett, age 93, passed peacefully into the arms of the Lord on February 17, 2016 at Sunrise Senior Living in southwest Fort Worth. Calvin was born to Forra Hill and Thomas Rayburn Tackett in Brookston Texas on May 22, 1922. Calvin was preceded in death by his parents and his first wife, Erline Harwell Tackett. He is survived by his wife Hazel (Pike) Tackett, two sons; Calvin Jr. of Rowlett, Texas; and Thomas Arthur of Fort Worth, Texas; sisters Nina Ragan of Van Wert, Ohio; Jo Chapman of Fort Worth, Texas; Dolores Vanderslice of Longview, Texas; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. Calvin left the farm in east Texas as WWII approached and enlisted in the army in July of 1940. The Fifth Calvary Regiment still used horses and he remembered being thrown by his horse four times one morning. After obtaining the rank of sergeant, he applied for OCC and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant and assigned to the 13th Armored Division. They saw action in Germany in the early part of 1945 and then returned to the states to train for the invasion of Japan. After the war ended he returned to Germany as part of the Army of Occupation. He was discharged in February of 1947, and moved to Longview, Texas where his parents had relocated. Calvin made good use of the GI Bill. He earned his GED and then an associate's degree from Kilgore Junior College. While attending Kilgore he met and married Erline Harwell of Abbott, Texas, who was teaching school in Gladewater. They were married in May 1948. He then attended UT Austin and earned a bachelor and masters of arts in Psychology. While doing so he served in the Army Reserves where he obtained the rank of Captain. After UT, Calvin went to work for Warner Chilcott Laboratories (now Phizer) in Houston. While in Houston, Erline came down with Polio and from then on was confined to a wheelchair. They moved to Fort Worth in 1956 to be near some of her family. As a pharmaceutical representative, he called upon many of the doctors in Fort Worth and in the small towns in west central Texas until his retirement in 1984. Calvin was a charter member of Genesis United Methodist Church where he taught a Sunday school class for many years. After retirement he turned an interest in the histories of our US presidents into a class that he taught at TCJC South Campus in the Senior Ed Program. In 1990 he was honored as Volunteer of the Year at the south campus for his service as director of that program. Calvin's hobbies included reading, history, travel, and genealogy. He made many trips in pursuit of compiling a genealogical history of his and Erline's family. After Erline's passing he learned to dance. In 1998, he met Hazel Pike at a church function. They found they had a lot in common including a love of dancing and were married that December. They made many trips to visit relatives. One of their favorite destinations was Branson, MO. They also attended as many senior dances as they could and at one time were members of the Petroleum Club and the Elk's Lodge. The family would like to thank the many kind staff at Sunrise Senior Living. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Association or your favorite charity.