Gary Richard Calvin

Gary was a gentleman, kind, a “good guy” in the very best way, and a devout family man.

I saw in him a sense of humor that revealed itself in gentle, quiet comments in conversation, Maybe a moment of thought was required to understand what he said. A little smile from him confirmed it was an intentional.

His interest in sports trivia was such that I think he thought it was more than trivia, it was of importance to him. Amazing memory.

Gary’s mind was always in motion. I recall sitting in a restaurant with many family members at the table. He began, quietly, to make an assessment of the restaurant as a business. Prices, floor space, prices, and many other expenses were a part of the analysis. He then, quietly again while not addressing the whole table, concluded if the place was a good bet in making money. What did he just do? Amazing!

He will be missed.

I met Gary when we worked together at H & R Block. At the time, I also got to know a another colleague, his name was Robert Coughlin. All three of us got along so well because we had the same conservative views. We talked about politics every chance we had.
Gary was my mentor at H & R Block. He would give me advice what to do on the tax preparation. Gary was so nice and quiet. I have never seen him got angry. I really admired him for his calmness and I would often thought that he would be an "excellent" poker player.
"Gary, you will be missed. RIP"
Love,
Tiffanie

I will always remember Gary's smile and charisma. He loved to talk about sports but hockey was his forte. I will miss my friend going to pick up his mail and stop by to tell me the latest news about the home teams. The neighborhood will not be the same without Gary. you will be missed.

Gary was a good guy. A genuine good guy. He was a regular member of our Saturday night sextuplet where we solved the world's problems. He never hesitated to participate in the foolishness and prank of the evening. His quiet comments contributed to the discussions of which there were many. He was a good friend and cared for his friends and family. He will be missed.

February 20, 1971

Gary Calvin, a Good Best Friend

It was very special to have lunch with Gary and his wife, Marilyn, at Las Vegas Paiute Resort on March 20, 2025. It was special for me because I count Gary as the first best friend I made after graduating from MSU in 1962. Gary and I worked at White, Bower and Prevo, a major mid-west CPA firm, located on the 24th Floor of the First National Building in downtown Detroit. The building was on Cadillac Square overlooking the Detroit City County Building on the south. We met back in the “Junior Area” of the office. There were about five of us newly hired accounting majors that did not have our own separate office but shared this common area. When we were not assigned to an audit team and working in a client’s office, we were relegated to the junior pool. It was there where we became acquainted with each other in between proof-reading assignments, running errands or other office tasks. Gary, Ken Michon and I became buddies there. We were single and about the same age. After work we went together to a bar around the corner on Cadillac Square. Many of the younger married guys would go there for a beer at 5:30, at the end of our workday, to wait for traffic to clear before heading to the suburbs. We single guys would stay on since we had no reason to hurry home. We talked about our job assignments, the partners in the firm, our plans for the weekend and where to find girls.
I lived the closest on Prentis, near Wayne State. Ken lived with his parents in Hamtramck and Gary lived out towards the northeast border of Detroit with his dad. Sometimes we would go home, change and meet up somewhere. Our favorite bar was The Surfside, on Gratiot near Bell Isle. It had the best band and tables of single young women. In the summer it was crowded and impossible to get in the front door so we would climb the back wall that surrounded the backyard and sneak in. The best girls to date were from Windsor across the river, affectionately referred to as Canucks. Other places we enjoyed going to were Bell Isle and Lake St. Clair.
White, Bower was respected as a large Midwest CPA firm that did not pay as much as the nationals, KPMG, Price Waterhouse and Deloitte, but was a good place to train to become a CPA. One day we were at a client’s office auditing cash and discussing our salaries. The guys who had worked for the firm for a few years were not paid as much as recent hires. They had been hired during a recession and their beginning salary was low and had not increased as fast as the current pay rates. This was before direct deposit, so we had our paychecks delivered to us. One afternoon we had the bright idea of counter signing each other’s paychecks to let the partners of White Bower know we were on to their unfairness. Of course, being vulnerable, we did not dare to do it.

It was probably me who saw the unfairness of this; I was the liberal of the group. Gary and Ken had gone to parochial schools and grew up in Detroit, so they were much more conservative than I was. And for me that was the essence of my friendship with Gary. He was conservative, but did not hold my liberalism against me. He joked about it, teased me but always with a smile. I never changed and neither did he, but we were friends that enjoyed being together. In the winter we went up north to ski and in the summer, we went boating on Lake St. Claire and the Detroit River. He and Ken were uncomfortable coming to my apartment because it was in a mixed neighborhood which they viewed as dangerous. I agreed that it was not safe after midnight but otherwise I had no problems living there. Of course, this was before the riots of 1968. One afternoon we were standing at the window of the junior’s room, looking down 24 floors to the street in front of the City County Building. There was a civil rights picket line in front of the entrance to Detroit city hall. I knew the details and the reason for the demonstration but no one else was interested in that. I was disappointed that no one else was sympathetic.
Gary helped me realize that I would not enjoy being a CPA focused on pleasing business owners who I did not agree with politically. I could not effectively hide my true feelings. I enjoyed the people I worked with and got along well with clients but that would not be enough to succeed as a CPA in Detroit. I quit White Bower at the end of 1964 and after a short stay in Germany, I found a job back home in Lansing as an accountant for the school district followed by a career in state government. Gary went forward with his career as an accountant in Detroit. I did not stay in contact with Ken. I did find his obituary: he died July 31, 2024.

Gary and I continued to be friends from a distance. I was proud to be his best man when he married Marilyn. We stayed in touch via Christmas cards and periodic visits. When I married Nell, Gary and Marilyn came to our wedding luncheon; we had only invited 25 of our closest friends and relatives. Yes, we were important to each other as friends. What could be better than having memories of good friends and the fun times we shared to fill our minds and hearts as we continue with life.

Linda and I remember Gary as a quiet man who always had a smile for you and was interested in what you had to say, an easy going man that we will all miss.