| Graduation Year | Class of 1982 |
| Date of Passing | Aug 28, 2012 |
| About | John Gordon McCallum died Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012, at Cottage Grove Place in Cedar Rapids. He was 87 years old. Services: 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 1, at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids, by Father David Beckman. The family will greet friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31, at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Cedar Rapids. Gordon was born Dec. 26, 1924, in Oak Park, Ill., the only child of Hugh and Gladys McCallum. He grew up in Lancaster, Wis., joined the Army Air Corps in 1943 and served until September 1945. He was a B26 crew member on 38 missions with the 391st bomb group in Europe. After the war he attended the University of Iowa, earning a master’s degree in medieval history. As a lucky result of alphabetical seating in a shared class, he met Geneva McBride, to whom he was married in 1948. They raised a family and shared their lives for nearly 60 years. Gordon was a high schoolteacher in Clear Lake for 3 1/2 years before moving to Cedar Rapids in June 1956. He taught social studies at Franklin for one year and then government and history at Washington High School for 29 years. He was an avid reader and carefully followed politics and government news. He was a lifelong fan of the Chicago Bears and jogged and exercised daily for many years. Having converted to Catholicism during the war Gordon was a devoted member of St. Matthew Catholic Church. He sang in the men’s choir and later with the Joyful Noise and served as a lay minister. After his retirement, Gordon was a committed volunteer for Aging Services and also delivered meals for Meals on Wheels. He was a proud and active grandpa who was deeply loved by his grandchildren. Gordon is survived by his children, Stephanie Dirks of Des Moines, Catherine McCallum (Tom Fouser) of Monrovia, Calif., Susan McCallum of Minneapolis, David (Sue Marsden) of Minneapolis and Duncan (Cris Snow) of Cedar Rapids; his grandchildren, Jennifer Coon, David Fouser, Julia Fouser, Anna Syed, Sarah Dirks, Erica Seth, Alex McCallum, Claire McCallum, Connor McCallum and Bailey McCallum; and his three great-grandchildren, Clara Fouser, Isra Syed and Zakariyya Syed. He was preceded in death by his wife, Geneva; an infant son, Michael; and son-in-law, Eldon Dirks. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the charity of the donor’s choice in Gordon’s memory. Please sign the online guest book for Gordon at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries. Published Aug. 30, 2012 in The Gazette |
