Anne Lightfoot Calhoun passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, February 21st after a period of declining health. Anne, the daughter of Anne and Sellars Lightfoot was born January 31, 1932, in Birmingham, Alabama.
She attended Ramsay High School. It was there that she met and began dating Robert “Bob” Calhoun. After high school, Anne continued her education at the University of Alabama majoring in fashion design and home economics.
On August 28, 1954, Bob and Anne were married and relocated to San Antonio, Texas, for Bob’s basic training in the Army and Anne’s training as an officer’s wife. The couple were then stationed in Frankfurt, Germany for Bob’s three years in the service. They returned to Tuscaloosa for Bob to finish his law degree. During this time Anne worked as the dietitian at the Tutwiler Dining Hall.
After law school, Bob and Anne moved to Selma, Alabama where she became very involved in the Red Cross Auxiliary and the Selma Junior League. On August 1, 1960, Anne gave birth to their only child Suzanne Lea. In 1964, the Calhouns relocated back to Birmingham. Along with being a full-time mother and housewife, Anne worked as a volunteer Pink Lady, served as president of the Derby Downs Garden Club and was a volunteer librarian at Rocky Ridge Grammar School. Anne was a member of the Princess Sehoy chapter of DAR and was always a loyal Crimson Tide fan. Her love of animals led her to taking several of her dogs through obedience training to get their CD and herding certifications.
Bob and Anne were members of Oakmont Presbyterian Church. Anne was very involved in the Women’s Circle, served as a deacon and received the Presbyterian Church’s Women of Distinction Award. Anne will also be remembered fondly as the First Lady of Scouting, giving Boy Scout Troop #93 its nickname “Bob’s Boys”. She served as a surrogate mom for many members of the troop over the years and continued that role until the week she passed away. Most people that met Anne described her as a sweet Southern Lady.
She was preceded in death by her parents and by Bob, her husband of 53 years, the love of her life. Anne is survived by her daughter Suzanne; her honorary family members Martin and Berta of Alabaster, and Godwin and Jasmine of Tanzania; her sister Joan Lightfoot of Homewood and sister-in-law Sabrina Calhoun of Hoover.
Services will be held Wednesday, March 4, 2020, 1 p.m., Oakmont Presbyterian Church, 1817 Patton Chapel Road, Hoover, AL. Any donations may be made to the Alabama Wildlife Center at Oak Mountain or the Presbyterian Children’s Home.
Professional services entrusted to W. E. Lusain Funeral Home of Birmingham, Alabama.