Delo Atlee Calvin

Delo Atlee Calvin, age 99, died peacefully early in the morning on Sunday, August 26, 2018, at the Dade County Nursing home in Greenfield, Missouri.

Delo was born on January 29, 1919, in Columbiana, Ohio, the oldest son of Conway Lee (1891-1923) and Destiny Wilson Calvin (1894-1985). He had two siblings, Leo Paul (1921-2012) and Gladys May (1923- ). After graduating from Canfield High School, his first job was working with his uncle in a wood lot for a year.

Delo graduated first in his class from the Bliss Electrical School in 1940 and began working at the International Business Machines (IBM) as a Customer Engineer.
He entered the Navy in 1944 and worked with Howard Aiken and Grace Hopper on the Mark I sequence Controlled Calculator, the granddaddy of today’s modern computers, a joint IBM, US Navy, and Harvard Computing Laboratory project.
After the end of WW II, he returned to working for IBM in Cincinnati, Ohio, as a machine repairman.
It was in that job that he met Joyce Eloise Metz whose machine seemed to break down quite frequently, particularly when she ‘accidently’ pressed three keys at the same time. They were married on May 24, 1947, at Oakley Methodist Church.

Delo was moved by IBM to the Hudson Valley, New York, in 1960 to work in different facilities in that area as staff programmer and manager for the rest of his 35-year career. He was a member of the Town of Pleasant Valley Zoning Board, and awarded a gavel for leadership in the 1970’s.
Upon retiring from IBM, he was certified as a professional assessor in 1979, working for the Town of Pleasant Valley, New York. He received an award for his professionalism in 1985 from the New York State Assessors, and a certificate of appreciation in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments.

He was active in many leadership roles in the Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church as well as a member of the choir. In 1990 he was recognized by the church for his leadership in building the Education Wing. In the larger Pleasant Valley community, he served “with distinction” as the first president of the Board of Directors of the Dorothy Albertson Foundation for Little People.
Delo joined the Masons in 1954, and later achieved the 32nd degree in Scottish Rite. He was a member of the Shekomeko Lodge #458 F&AM in Pleasant Valley, New York from 1964-1990. He was awarded a Dedicated Service Award apron by the Grand Lodge of New York. He was a member of the Amelia Masonic Lodge #590 F&AM in Amelia, Ohio, where he was recognized as Mason of the Year in 2003, and the Valley of Albany Scottish Rite (NY) at the time of his death.

Delo and Joyce Calvin returned to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1990 and were active in the Anderson Hills United Methodist Church singing in the choir and attending Sunday School classes.
Delo was also an active member of Always Ready Methodist Men (ARMM) including applying his skill in small engine repair to keep the church’s tractors and mowers running.

Delo enjoyed woodworking, making various projects for family and collecting coins. He was model railroading fan, always had a vegetable garden, and he and Joyce enjoyed river cruising on the Mississippi Queen steam paddle wheeler. The family also travelled and camped at national parks all over the country.

Delo was predeceased by his wife, Joyce, in 2008; his grandson, Christopher Valencia, in 2009; and his brother, Leo Paul, in 2012.
He is survived by his sister, Gladys Nicholas; four children: Duane Atlee, Cheryl Ann (James Moon), Jerry Glen (Christine), and Bruce Conway (David Showers); and three grandchildren: Katie April Grassmann (Paul), Glen Daniel (Lori), and Neal Donald; and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 2045 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45202-1490.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 6, 2018, at 1 p.m., at Anderson Hills United Methodist Church, 7515 Forest Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45255. His cremains will be interred the next day at the Ellsworth Cemetery on West Akron Canfield Road, Ellsworth, Ohio, 44416