Calvin "Cal" Reed McAffee

On Monday, March 28, 2022, Cal McAffee peacefully passed away at his home surrounded in love by his family. Cal was 96 years old and was born on November 8th, 1925, in Salt Lake City. He was the oldest son of Joseph Reed McAffee and Laura Margaret Heinhold, and after his mother’s untimely passing from cancer when Cal was 5 years old, his dad Reed happily met Vera Marie Reid who was a jovial telephone operator and they married in 1930, followed by the arrival of Cal’s best friend and brother Jerry Harmon McAffee. They remained the closest of brothers throughout both their lives, raising their families nearby so everyone grew together as a tight knit family enjoying holidays and the best of Utah outdoor activities right until the end.

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At the beginning of the nation’s preparing for the war effort, the family moved to Los Angeles when Cal was in the 9th grade. His number came up before the end of his senior year, so he graduated early from Narbonne High School in 1944 and entered the Navy for service in World War II. He became a radio operator learning Morse Code, and he was stationed primarily in Florida protecting the southern East Coast against German U-Boats, transcribing Morse messages to his crash boat commander. He served honorably and was discharged at the end of the war in the summer of 1946, returning briefly to Los Angeles before entering Brigham Young University that fall. While at the Y he was an avid skier and was best friends with Utah skiing pioneers Mel Fletcher and Earl Miller. He participated in early Alta and Park City ski patrol and spent every spare minute he could up at Timp Haven which later became Sundance. He graduated with his Bachelor's Degree in Economics and then briefly worked in the defense industry before deciding to return to BYU to get a teaching credential following in the footsteps of subsequently many educators in the McAffee family.

He began his teaching career in Gardena near Los Angeles at Robert E Peary Junior High School in 1955, teaching mathematics and later early computer science in data processing to kids between 7th and 9th grades. He expanded his career when he attended Chapman College and completed his Master’s Degree in Education in 1972. He remained at Peary Jr High until his retirement in 1986.

While he was just starting his life as a schoolteacher, he attended a stake dance one evening where he met another schoolteacher and they soon realized that they were meant for each other. He married Karma Jean Rich in the Los Angeles Temple in November of 1957, and they bought a house from a selection of models in a newly developed area of Bellflower near Lakewood in one of the many planned post-war suburbs that so many new families came to in the growth of that boom era of the 1950’s and 60’s. They soon had their first child, a daughter named Peggy Jo followed by Bonnie Lee, Christy Ann and finally the boy they always wanted, Daniel Reed. They were active in their local ward and the family grew up from primary to seminary to attending college all from that house that Cal had purchased on the GI Bill.

One of the advantages of a teaching career is the guaranteed summer vacations, and the Cal McAffee family enjoyed years of memories traveling back to Utah, pulling a tent We are all enlisted till the conflict is o'er, we will grin and bear it by and by.... trailer for some but not "too much" luxury, to see family and enjoy the outdoor activities he had grown up participating in. His kids all learned the art of fishing and camping and experiencing small town culture in beloved Utah locations such as Beaver in the beautiful canyons there. Lifelong friendships and memories were a gift to the whole family in the summer vacations they spent together.

He chose to retire to the Southern Utah area because of that love and ended up in the City of Washington in a home near the Green Springs area which was not nearly as built up as it is today. He finally decided to buy a horse, much to his daughters happiness, and enjoyed the next twenty years of his golden age participating in the Ridge Riders, the Back Country Horsemen and many local friends who would saddle up and go out with him exploring the beautiful red cliffs and amazing geologic formations of Zion and Pine Valley and Snow Canyon, and even up above Green Springs when it was possible to ride up in those hills.

Following the care in sickness and the death of his beloved wife, Karma, he ventured out into the singles activities to see what they might bring. And much to his delight, he met Janet Betty Watson and soon he and Jan were married in the St George Temple. Jan remained his companion and loving wife until his passing, and she was a phenomenal support and fountain of love to the family.

His funeral service will be at 12 noon on Saturday, April 9th 2022, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Capilla Ward Building at 807 Capilla Dr, Washington Utah 84780. He will be interred in Washington City Cemetery at 1:30 that day with Veterans honors.