Calvin Neithamer

Calvin D. Neithamer, age 89, passed away Sunday, May 24, 2015 at St. Vincent Health Center, surrounded by his family.

He was born in Erie on May 12, 1926, the son of the late Walter E. and Marian Pinches Neithamer.

During WWII, Cal graduated from Academy High School (1943) and was admitted to the Navy V-12 program at Yale University. He graduated as an ensign with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. He was recalled to active duty in the Korean War, and ended his naval career as a Lieutenant.

Cal had a 40-year career in marketing with General Electric. He traveled to many countries, including China, Japan, South America, India, Scotland, and Italy. He served as the local and national president of the Elfun Society. Upon his retirement from GE, Cal became the Executive Director of the Americans for the Competitive Enterprise System (ACES), a position he held for 13 years. He received their Outstanding Citizen Award in 1998.

Cal was an exceptional amateur golfer, and won several championships, including many at Lake Shore Country Club, where he had been a member for 65 years. He was a proud member of the League of the Lower Lakes, the oldest amateur golf league in the United States. He was inducted into the Erie District Golf Association Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Erie Metropolitan Chapter Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Music was an important aspect of Cal’s life. He played the trumpet in the Academy High School Band, Yale University Band, and 30 years with the Zem Zem Temple Shrine Band.

As a longtime member of First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, he served terms as Elder, Trustee, and Deacon. He was a member of Tyrian Commonwealth Lodge No. 362 F. & A.M., and Scottish Rite Bodies, Valley of Erie, where he was Thrice Potent Master.

Cal was a board member and chairman for the Greater Erie Charity Golf Classic, president of the United Way (1981-1982), a member and chapter president of Erie Rotary Club, and Past District Governor, District 7280 (1994-1995).

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife of 51 years, Grace Tarno, and his brother, Dr. Richard W. Neithamer.

Cal is survived by his wife of 14 years, Mary Lou Reslink Neithamer, his children, Heidi Rees and her husband Tom, Dr. Calvin D. Neithamer and his wife Susie, all of Virginia, and Dr. Julie Lewis and her husband David of Erie. He is further survived by eight grandchildren, Lee, Elizabeth and Brian Rees, Jason and Gregory Neithamer, and Henry, Grace and Emma Lewis, as well as five great-grandchildren.

Friends may call at the Burton Funeral Home and Crematory, 602 West 10th Street on Friday, May 29 from 2-4pm and 6-8pm, and on Saturday, May 30, at the church from 10am to just prior to the funeral service at 11am at the First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, 247 West 6th Street, Erie, PA 16501. The Reverend Timm High will officiate. Burial in Erie Cemetery.

Tyrian Commonwealth Lodge No. 362 F.&A.M. will have a Masonic service at the funeral home Friday at 7 pm.

Memorials may be made to the Erie Charity Golf Classic Fund, c/o Erie Community Foundation, 459 West 6th Street, Erie PA 16507, or the First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant.