Cal Heminway died at 88 on a glorious June day. He had rototilled his garden, planted more dahlias, declared he was mad to be dying, gave thanks, and our beloved curmudgeon moved on. The youngest of James Callender Heminway, Sr. and Helen Greene Heminway’s three children, Cal was born in Mount Kisco, N.Y. and spent his childhood in Chappaqua, N.Y. He was predeceased by his sister, Anne Heminway Botto and he is survived by his brother, Richard Merritt Heminway, of Olympia, Wash. Cal’s commitment to Granby and family started when he and wife, Sue, moved to town in 1960. They raised their four children—Sarah (Earl Semmelrock) of Pomfret, Deborah (Tom Sherer) of Old Lyme, Seth (Julie Fry) of Leverett, Mass. and Bill (Elizabeth Dyer) of Shoreham, Vt. Cal was an attentive father and grandfather to his 10 grandchildren – Cody, Sothea and Seth Semmelrock; Andrew and Will Sherer; Colter and Selwyn Heminway; and Polly, Owen and Eliot Heminway. For many years, Cal cared for Sue until her death from Parkinson’s Disease in 2020.
After graduating from Hotchkiss, Cal earned his BA from Yale, proudly served in the U.S. Navy, and enjoyed the domestic and international challenges as an IBM executive. Upon retirement, he pursued his Masters in Public Administration at the University of Hartford and then enjoyed another 20 years as a financial advisor. Cal valued public education and dedicated 32 years to the Granby Board of Education (1981-2013) serving as chair for more than 10 years. Cal was an incorporator and treasurer of the Granby Education Foundation, and was instrumental in the creation of the Salmon Brook Ecology Center. Cal served as Granby’s education representative to the statewide quality and diversity forums (mid-1990s), Treasurer and Chair of the Capital Region Education Council, Vice Chair of the Connecticut Commission for Education Technology, Vice Chair of the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC), President of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE), and was an incorporator and board member of the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council. He also served as trustee and treasurer for Westover School (Middlebury) and Marvelwood School (Kent).
In 1963, Cal joined the nascent Granby Volunteer Ambulance Association where he was a driver and EMT for 20 years and served on the board for many of those years. As president, he was instrumental in building the ambulance barn. As he served without discussion, this Granby volunteer list is incomplete: the Historical Society, Land Trust, Stony Hill Village and many roles over the decades at the First Congregational Church of Granby.
A life-long student of history, he read voraciously, and debated thoughtfully, especially over a glass of fine red wine. With love and respect, Cal tended his gardens, split firewood, crafted furniture, traveled and gathered regularly with his bridge group. A devoted family man and public servant, his energy was boundless even in his later years as he fought pulmonary fibrosis. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Granby Education Foundation, PO Box 351 Granby, CT 06035 or to the Granby Ambulance Association, 1 Pegville Road, Granby, CT 06035.