Area Obituaries - Robert "Bobby" Marion Calhoun

Robert "Bobby" Marion Calhoun, age 78 of South Fulton, passed away Monday, September 8, 2025 at Diversicare of Martin.

 

Funeral service will be at 11 am Monday, September 15, 2025 at White-Ranson Funeral Home with Bobby's uncle, Rev. Jimmy Calhoun officiating. Burial will follow in Cobb's Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery. Visitation will be Sunday, September 14, 2025 from 1 pm - 4 pm at the funeral home and again on Monday before the service beginning at 10 a.m.

 

Pallbearers will be Joe Hill, Russell Hilton, Thomas Taylor, Terry Taylor, Kenneth Barnes, Glen Patterson, and Barry Cranford. Claude Cranford, Don Gray, and Lynn Treece will serve as honorary Pallbearers.

 

Bobby was born in Hornbeak, TN on August 21, 1947 to the late Charles Bruce Calhoun and the late Thelma Mai Barnes Calhoun. He married Mrs. Frances Suzanne Penick Calhoun on June 3, 1972. She survives. In addition to his wife, Suzanne, he is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Colin and Chloe Calhoun of Smyrna, TN; two daughters, Holli Calhoun of Franklin, TN, and Dawn Jones of San Antonio, TX; five grandchildren, Beau (Katy) Craven of Port Orchard, WA, Demi (Keith) Huckabee of Midlothian, TX, Cameron and Brett Calhoun, as well as Chase Calhoun; and four great-grandchildren, Kolton, Henry, and Thomas Huckabee, and Ella Kate Craven.

 

Bobby attended Hornbeak Elementary School until his family relocated to Bolivar, TN due to his father’s employment as a soil conservationist for the United States Department of Agriculture. Bobby learned the value of hard work early in life, spending much of his youth helping on his family’s farms in Hornbeak and the Crystal community. Bobby graduated from Bolivar Central High School in 1965, where he excelled as a standout athlete in baseball, basketball, and football for the Tigers. He graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education in 1970 and again with a Master of Science degree in Education plus 45 hours above in 1972. Bobby devoted many years to education as a math teacher and coach of multiple sports, shaping the lives of thousands of young people in the Obion County School District. During the summers, he ran a program for disadvantaged children, offering both educational enrichment and opportunities to broaden their horizons with field trips to places like the circus and zoo. After more than three decades of service between 1969 and 2000, Bobby retired as principal of South Fulton Elementary School, leaving behind a lasting legacy of dedication and care. Bobby was a member of the United Methodist Church for most of his life. He spent his life a devoted servant to others, his family, his parents, his church, and his community. Kind, hardworking and tenacious, he made a difference in this world and will be missed.