Cynthia S. Calvert (Cindy) of Harvest, AL died Sunday, December 4, 2016 at Huntsville Hospital after valiantly fighting the ravages of ovarian cancer.
Visitation will be Wednesday, December 7, 2016 from 11 – 12 at Rogersville Funeral Home. Funeral service will follow in the chapel with Frank Mills officiating. Burial will be in Miller Cemetery, 3 miles east of funeral home.
A graduate of Coffee High School and UNA, she desired a career in teaching, but openings were few and far between in the 70’s.
After a brief stint of waitressing at the Hilton in Huntsville, she found employment with Intergraph and an introduction to a tall Texan, John Calvert. John, also, an Intergraph employee, came from Houston to Huntsville at intervals for training or conferences.
Shortly, Cindy transferred to Houston with Intergraph and later worked with other facilities as a technical writer: John Brown Engineering, ENSR and Fugro Consultants.
After 10 years in the rat race, both felt the need for a smaller venue and a slower pace. A lay-off for Cindy and a promise of transfer with Intergraph for John paved the way for a return to Huntsville.
Back in Huntsville, she worked again for Intergraph and later for Infinity, Northrop-Grummond, and South Tech. On her later resumes she stated, “I can write anything”, and indeed she could-proposals, product advertising, articles for trade magazines, brochures for EXPO’s. And in her spare time she prepared resumes for returning GI’s to help them regain access to the work force.
Nature lover to the core, she loved fossil-hunting and “rock shows”. Shelves and hearths are adorned with beautiful hunks of quartz, red rocks from Red Rock Canyon, etc. Her favorite Christmas memories were our visits to the farm with saw and axe, wading marsh and saw briars, to find the perfect tree. And she could spin many a yarn about week-end fishing trips to Galveston Bay with John and Nathan.
Her personality profile would not be complete without mention of her thrift-store addiction. Her home décor is enhanced with just the perfect accent to fill a niche or space and closets are filled with someone’s throw-a ways-all part of the fabulous finds she loved to unearth.
Hers was a beautiful life well lived, and strong to the bitter end. She touched many lives with grace, empathy, love and honor.
I thank God for this gift to enjoy for 58 years. All too brief, yes, but I would not ask for one more day for her to endure the misery brought by this dreadful disease.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation in her memory to the American Cancer Society, 104 South Poplar St., Florence, AL 35630; cancer.org.
Preceded in death by her father, W.W. Sandlin, Jr.; paternal grandparents, W.W. & Frank Lee Sandlin; maternal grandparents, W.A. & Ethel Wilbanks.
Survivors are husband, John Calvert; former husband, Sandy Waugh; son, Nathan Waugh; mother, Annette Kizer; step-relatives, Mae Sandlin and children, Wendy & Butch Sandlin.
Thanks to pallbearers, Johnny Ray Wilbanks, Jason Wilbanks, Carl Watters, Barry Watters, Dan Osborne and David Kizer.
