January 17, 2005: Headlines: COS - Sierra Leone: Obituaries: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Sierra Leone RPCV John McCall dies in Atlanta
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January 17, 2005: Headlines: COS - Sierra Leone: Obituaries: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Sierra Leone RPCV John McCall dies in Atlanta
Sierra Leone RPCV John McCall dies in Atlanta
Sierra Leone RPCV John McCall dies in Atlanta
Obituaries: Atlanta: John McCall, 64, helped serve others worldwide
By Kay Powell
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
January 17, 2005
John McCall was a preacher's son, which might account for his commitment to the Peace Corps, VISTA and anti-poverty programs.
With his biology degree from Virginia Union University, he joined the Peace Corps in 1964 and taught school in Sierra Leone, Africa, for two years.
"He had such a great experience in Africa and felt a closeness to the continent," said his son, John "Jay" McCall II of Atlanta. "He was a preacher's kid, so he always had a feel for mission work. It was part of his raising."
Mr. McCall's work with the Office of Economic Opportunity brought him to Atlanta in 1967, monitoring anti-poverty programs in six Southeastern states, said his colleague Bob Knight of Jonesboro.
"We monitored programs and services back in the days when it was dangerous to be in Mississippi," Mr. Knight said. "On those trips, he would talk about his time in Sierra Leone. He sometimes discussed that there were similar problems in both places."
"He was quite a deep individual," Mr. Knight said. "He had good, clear thoughts and good, clear insights that he was able to articulate."
The funeral for John Jones McCall Sr., 64, of Atlanta, who died of prostate cancer Wednesday at South Fulton Hospital, will be noon Tuesday at Providence Missionary Baptist Church. Murray Bros. Cascade Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Her husband, who lost his left eye in an accident when he was a young man, was a quiet, low-key person who was a good one to have in charge, said his wife, Geneva Hurley McCall.
In his 34-year career with the federal government, Mr. McCall also conducted recruiting for Volunteers in Service to America, or VISTA, Mr. Knight said. The OEO became the Community Services Administration before it was shut down during the Reagan administration, he said.
Mr. McCall then spent 22 months searching for a job that suited his government rating and didn't require him to move from Atlanta, his wife said. He was a Food and Drug Administration inspector when he retired in 1999.
Then, the fun began. While he was working, Mr. McCall entertained himself by riding his Kawasaki motorcycle and swimming in his enclosed backyard pool year-round.
"He loved traveling," Mrs. McCall said. "He liked to learn about stuff and was up on every gadget. Anything electronic was his thing."
His lifelong dream had been to own a recreational vehicle and travel wherever he wanted.
So, when he retired, he bought his biggest gadget, a 27-foot expandable RV, she said. He always had the latest in camera equipment to record their travels throughout the South and the cruises they took twice a year.
"These five years he's been retired, he sacked it all in. He fulfilled a lot of dreams," his wife said. "He just was a happy person."
Survivors include a brother, Cary S. McCall Jr.; and a sister, Wilhelmenia Morgan, both of Richmond.
When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
| Ask Not As our country prepares for the inauguration of a President, we remember one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and how his words inspired us. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." |
| Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help? |
| The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005. |
| Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia." |
| Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors. |
| The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn. |
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Story Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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