Naomi K. Calvin's Obituary
Lydia Naomi Koger Calvin was born on December 1, 1931, on the family farmstead in Wolf Trap, Halifax County, Virginia, to Lee Henry and Hattie Sue Cumbie Koger. The youngest of seven children in a Mennonite family, she grew up surrounded by hard work, faith, and the soft hills of the Virginia Piedmont rising against the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Her early life was marked by simplicity and service — shucking corn, churning butter, and tending to the home when others could not. From those humble beginnings came a lifelong reverence for God’s design, the beauty of the land, and the peace found in simple things.
After graduating from Eastern Mennonite College, she left Virginia for Washington, D.C., joining the U.S. Naval Department’s Bureau of Naval Personnel. Her skill, intellect, and composure led her to serve as Chief Stenographer for Commander J.E. Pace, working under Rear Admiral Kenneth Craig. Her work earned her the Superior Accommodation Merit Award — a rare honor for civilian staff at the time.
While in Washington, she met PFC Frank Calvin of Texas. The two married in May 1958 and soon moved to Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, where they welcomed daughters Dawn and Yvonne. While living in Pennsylvania, she worked as a government liaison for Wyeth Laboratories. The family moved to Caldwell, Texas, in the early 1960s, later settling in Houston, where she devoted three decades to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 66.
Through every season of her life, Naomi’s strength was her constancy — the presence that steadied those around her. In her nearly one hundred years, she bore witness to a world transformed beyond imagination: from the Great Depression through the Second World War, the Women’s Rights Movement, the Space Age, and the rise of the Internet. Few have witnessed so much of history unfold, and fewer still have met it with such composure and humility. She faced life without complaint, guided by a clear sense of purpose and by the people she loved most.
Her love revealed itself not in words, but in the linens folded, the supper kept warm, and the porch light left burning for the family who always found their way home.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Calvin; her sisters, Vivian Wilbourn, Lennie Seymour, Sybil Shank, and Arneda Koger; and her brothers, Norman Ellsmere and James Lee Koger Sr.
She is survived by her daughters, Dawn Klawinsky and Yvonne Lucas-Cessna, along with their spouses; her grandsons, Joseph and Timothy Lucas, and Jarrod and Benjamin Klawinsky, and his wife, Colette Mast Klawinsky; her great-granddaughters, Olivia and Seraphine Klawinsky; and many cherished nieces and nephews.
Her life was one of faith, humility, and purpose — lived with grace, measured in love, and remembered in full bloom.
What’s your fondest memory of Naomi?
What’s a lesson you learned from Naomi?
Share a story where Naomi's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Naomi you’ll never forget.
How did Naomi make you smile?