Calvin W. Green

On February 27, 1940, CALVIN WALLACE GREEN was born to Calvin Chester and Rosa Lee (Hunter) Green at City Hospitals in Baltimore, Maryland. He was their only child and they fully doted on him. Calvin attended Baltimore City Schools, starting out at P.S. 102 on Jefferson Street. He then went to Dunbar Junior Senior High School and was a proud graduate of the Dunbar Class of 1958. He briefly attended the former Morgan State College. Calvin received his AA degree in Fire Protection Technology from the former Community College of Baltimore. In 1958, he entered the United States Navy. He trained at the Great Lakes Naval Station and served aboard the U.S.S. William M. Wood, DDR-715 among other “tin cans.” Calvin toured the Mediterranean as well as other foreign ports. After his military time, he went to work briefly at various jobs including Hochschild Kohn Warehouse and the C&P Telephone Company. He worked tirelessly at more than one job at a time to provide for his young family. In 1965, Calvin took the civil service tests for the FBI and to become a firefighter-trainee for the Federal Government. Two weeks after he was called up for the trainee job, the FBI called. At the Fort Meade Fire Department, he was subsequently promoted to driver, then pump operator, Captain and Assistant Chief. He reached the rank of Deputy Chief of the Fort Meade Fire Department by the time of his retirement on March 31, 1991. The Fort Meade Fire Department operates as part of Anne Arundel County covering the areas of Odenton, Jessup and Maryland City. In addition to Fort Meade proper, the department responds to fire and fire- related emergencies at the National Security Agency (NSA). One of Calvin’s most memorable experiences of his firefighting service was as Assistant Chief, when he served as Officer-in-Charge during the rescue of the individual who shot President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981. The individual was captured and taken to the Fort Meade stockade. There he attempted suicide after disabling the cell door locks. Assistant Green ordered the semi-conscious individual to be pulled through the cell bars that the firefighters had cut. On September 8, 1952, Calvin spotted Joan Elizabeth Presbury across Dunbar’s auditorium. She later became his wife. Calvin and Joan were married on December 6, 1958, and they had four (4) children. It was a relationship which spanned more than 70 years. Calvin was affectionately known as Daddy and “Daddy Calvin.” Calvin’s impact as a father and father figure extended to many. In his later years, Calvin’s activities centered around his membership in the American Legion Post #285. He was a keen jazz aficionado. Play a tune, name an artist, say a title and he could tell you where it was played live, the personnel who played it as well as personal morsels about the artists. He was a staunch follower of the Left Bank Jazz Society. Calvin was an avid reader of non-fiction, passing on tidbits of information to anyone who cared to listen. He was an excellent instructor, a historian and storehouse of all types of information. If you mentioned a topic, just about any topic, he could give you salient facts and his opinions. His brain was a depot of trivia. Calvin was a resource to whom you could go for reliable information much like you now go to Siri. The doctors on his care teams at Johns Hopkins Hospital marveled at his recall and listened with rapt attention to his soliloquies. This space cannot contain all that Calvin’s life was and what he was to so many people. He was a clean man, neat and so organized. Calvin was punctual. One of his mottos was, “pick the time you choose but keep the time you pick.” Calvin was fiercely protective of his family. We are yet realizing how fully he has protected us. He was widely known to be smooth. He was a dapper dresser. Although he was not good at remembering names and faces, he was broadly known throughout the East Baltimore community. Calvin leaves to lovingly cherish his memory; his wife of more than 64 years, Joan; their four children, April, Jeffrey, Karin, Chrystal; six grandchildren, Ashley, Jonathan, Ambrosia Green and Christine, Soen Victoria and Nadia Green-Noel; seven great-grandchildren, Sayvion, Serenity, Sanyra Sky and Seven Witherspoon, Ashlynn and Zuri Harrison; and Austin Morris; aunt, Delores Williams; two uncles, Walter and John Frank Hunter; many cousins, other relatives, loved ones, friends and associates. Calvin also had a special relationship with his cousin, Gregory Hunter, and an endearing friendship with Pinkney McCready, his longtime childhood friend.

Tributes

Calvin W. Green

February 27, 1940 - March 7, 2023