Joseph Hiram Calvin, Jr. ’39, of Birmingham, AL, died April 3, 2012. He was born in Decatur on June 2, 1918, the son of Joseph Hiram Calvin and Bernice Jackson Calvin.
He graduated from Davidson, where he was president of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. He attended Harvard Law School for two years before serving in the Army, from which he retired as a captain in 1946. Calvin received his juris doctor from the University of Alabama and practiced law in Decatur for nearly 50 years. During this time, Calvin served as president of the Morgan County Bar Association, was president of the Decatur Kiwanis Club, was a longtime member of the board of Compass Bank, was chairman of the Decatur School Board, and was elected to represent Morgan and Lawrence counties in the Alabama State Senate. He was named most effective Alabama senator.
Calvin was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church in Decatur until moving to Birmingham in 2000. He was a deacon and elder and taught Sunday school for many years. He is thought of by all as the perfect gentleman.
Calvin is survived by his wife, Juliet Given Calvin, 9 Cross Creek Dr., Birmingham, AL 35213-2318; his son, Joseph Calvin III ’84 (Jennifer Calvin); and four grandchildren, Kalli Calvin, Elizabeth Calvin, Joseph Calvin IV, and Virginia Calvin. He is also survived by Juliet Calvin’s sons, Finis St. John IV (Gaynor Lee St. John) and William Given St. John (Elizabeth Gentry St. John); her grandsons, Finis St. John (Virginia Givhan St. John) and John Jefferson St. John; and great-granddaughter, Mary Juliet St. John. He was preceded in death by Juliet’s granddaughter, Emily Parker St. John.