Catherine Roll Calvert

Published 12:05 am Thursday, August 28, 2014

July 12, 1932 – Aug. 20, 2014

GAINSVILLE, Ga. — Memorial services for Catherine Roll Calvert, 82, of Gainesville, Ga., who died Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, at Angels’ Garden Senior Community in Dacula, Ga., in the presence of her family, will be at  11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014, at Grace Episcopal Church in Gainsville.

Arrangements are under the direction of Lord & Stephens Funeral Homes in Athens, Ga.

Ms. Calvert was born July 12, 1932, in Jackson, the daughter of Glenn and Ethel Marley Roll.

She spent her childhood in Natchez with her parents and younger sister, Naomi, and retained an abiding love for her hometown.

She was a graduate of Natchez High School and earned her bachelor of arts  degree from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Va., where she was a Latin major and music (piano) minor. She was a member of Chi Omega sorority. Continuing education included a dramatic arts program at Northwestern University and graduate studies in psychology at Georgia State University.

Ms. Calvert had four children with her former husband, John Randolph Calvert, M.D. She lived most of her life in Atlanta and moved to Gainsville in 1998. Her love of the arts was evident in all aspects of her life.

Ms. Calvert was a talented pianist and gifted actress, appearing in productions at Theatre Atlanta, The Academy Theatre and The Alliance Theatre Company (both studio and main stage) while in Atlanta. She was a gracious and generous hostess and had the ability to make all feel welcome in her home, regularly hosting lively gatherings which often included actors, directors and musicians. Her interests extended to dance and the visual arts, and she instilled in her children a lifelong love of books and the arts. She will be especially remembered for her wonderful sense of humor and sharp intellect.

Ms. Calvert was an active member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta and a member of The Order of the Daughters of the King. Her Gainsville parish was Grace Episcopal Church.

Survivors include one sister, Naomi Leavell; four children, David Roll Calvert of Atlanta, Catherine Calvert Fitzgerald and husband, Tom, of Gainsville, Suzanne Calvert Scarmack and husband, Nick, of Venice, Calif., and Samuel Hornsby Calvert II of Columbus, Ohio; three grandchildren, Sarah Maynes and husband, Ryan, of Marietta, Ga., Emily Fitzgerald of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Jack Fitzgerald of Atlanta: and two great-grandchildren, Rowan and Cian Maynes.

Donations may be made to The Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090-6011 or The Glenn Gould Foundation, 69 Yonge St., Suite 1401, Toronto, ON M5E 1K3.

Online condolences may be sent to lordandstephens.com.