Sherwin A. Callander

On the afternoon of July 25, 2022, Sherwin Callander (aka Chick Magnet) of Huntsville passed away at the age of 102 with his daughter and granddaughter by his side.

Sherwin was born to James and Eva Callander on June 4, 1920, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and grew up in Oakland, CA. He joined the Navy in 1939 and was stationed at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked though he was one day out of Port. He then made the Invasions of Morocco, North Africa, Salerno, Italy, and took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy. He later was a scout master for many years teaching many young men values, morals, and skills. In 2014 he and his graddaughter, Elaine Oakes, began to revisit places of importance to him such as Normandy and Pearl Harbor. These trips brought the attention of the media and he enjoyed quite a bit of notoriety the last eight years of his life. He also inspired and encouraged many people during this time with his positive outlook and cheery disposition...and JOKES! He said it was his goal to make someone laugh every day, and he darn near did it!

Together with his first wife, Ruby Callander, he raised three children; Richard (Dick) Callander of Hernando, FL (wife Karin), Elaine Callander Bray (deceased), and Betty Callander Little of Harvest, AL (husband Paul). He also leaves behind his grandchildren, Elaine Oakes of Madison, AL (husband Lynn), Andrew Callander of Sarasota, FL, Tabitha Ferrell of Palmyra, VA (husband Marvis), Kimberly Callander of Charlottesville, VA, and Michael Callander of Sarasota, FL, and 9 great-grandchildren/

Sherwin married his second wife, Margaret Eggers Callander, in 1980 and enjoyed being a part of her 4 children and 10 grandchildren's lives. Following her death in 2006, he moved to Alabama where he was "adopted" by many in our local area as a father or grandfather to them, and he was proud and happy to enjoy being a part of their lives as well!

A celebration of Sherwin's life will be held at Hope Church (1661 Balch Rd, Madison) on Saturday, August 20th, 2022 with visitation at 2:00 p.m. and service at 3:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Honoring Veteran Legacies (P.O. Box 1124, Madison, AL 35758) at www.honoringveteranlegacies.org/donate or to Hospice of North Alabama https://hospoiceofnorthalabama.com/donate/(BrightSpring Hospice  Foundation, 805 N. Whittington Parkway, Louisville, KY 40222)

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