My good friend, Sonny Calvert was born in Ballinger, Texas and he had a younger sister Cynthia who was in the OHS Class of 66. He attended Sam Houston Elementary, Bowie Junior High School in the 7th grade and then to Hood when it opened his 8th grade year. At OHS, I met him as we were in the cornet section of the OHS band. Sonny and I became instant friends as it turned out that his grandparents lived behind my aunt and uncle in Ballinger. We had some great times, the summer after our sophomore year in Ballinger, as we spent time down there at the same time. His sister, Cynthia at the time had this deep crush on my cousin, Dean Hudgins. Shortly before the end of our junior year, Sonny dropped out and joined the Marines. I would see him on each of his leaves when he came home. Sonny did a tour in Vietnam in 1965-66 and was assigned to a Marine Air Wing in Da Nang. I later went into the Army and when I returned from Vietnam, Sonny was out of the Corp and was working in Odessa. I introduced him to my first wife's friend and they became engaged. Sonny was a groomsman at my first wedding in Odessa in June 1969.
I am not sure what happened, but the relationship with my wife's friend ended. Sonny was involved in a car accident on the Andrew's Highway near Park Drive-Inn in 1970, a man in the other car was killed and there was big lawsuit. Sonny had married and was the father of a daughter and a son. He and his wife divorced in 1975 and Sonny went into the Navy. He stayed in the Navy for 16 years and with his Marine Corp Service, he retired in 1991. He had completed the requirements for his B.S. from the University of Connecticut and he taught school for a couple of years, but felt confined. He bought a Diesel Truck and began to do long haul, over the road.
The last time I saw Sonny was when his father passed away in in 1987 here in Odessa. His mother, Pearl had adopted me and she still to this day calls me one of her sons. She is 90 years old now and is living in Kentucky. Sonny began to have back trouble and thought it was due to driving. It kept getting worse and finally in January 2007, he went to see a doctor. After many tests, he was diagnosed with advanced Stage four, prostate cancer, a condition attributed to his Vietnam Service with the Marine Air Wing from the effects of Agent Orange. Sonny lasted six months and passed way in September 27, 2007. He was cremated and his cremains were buried in the Kentucky Veteran's Cemtery in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Sonny's daughter had died before he death, thought to be a suicide and after his death, his sister Cynthia passed away. Sonny's mother has already buried her husband, both of her children and one grandchild. She resides with Cynthia's daughter in Kentucky.
Billy Mac Brown
My good friend, Sonny Calvert was born in Ballinger, Texas and he had a younger sister Cynthia who was in the OHS Class of 66. He attended Sam Houston Elementary, Bowie Junior High School in the 7th grade and then to Hood when it opened his 8th grade year. At OHS, I met him as we were in the cornet section of the OHS band. Sonny and I became instant friends as it turned out that his grandparents lived behind my aunt and uncle in Ballinger. We had some great times, the summer after our sophomore year in Ballinger, as we spent time down there at the same time. His sister, Cynthia at the time had this deep crush on my cousin, Dean Hudgins. Shortly before the end of our junior year, Sonny dropped out and joined the Marines. I would see him on each of his leaves when he came home. Sonny did a tour in Vietnam in 1965-66 and was assigned to a Marine Air Wing in Da Nang. I later went into the Army and when I returned from Vietnam, Sonny was out of the Corp and was working in Odessa. I introduced him to my first wife's friend and they became engaged. Sonny was a groomsman at my first wedding in Odessa in June 1969.
I am not sure what happened, but the relationship with my wife's friend ended. Sonny was involved in a car accident on the Andrew's Highway near Park Drive-Inn in 1970, a man in the other car was killed and there was big lawsuit. Sonny had married and was the father of a daughter and a son. He and his wife divorced in 1975 and Sonny went into the Navy. He stayed in the Navy for 16 years and with his Marine Corp Service, he retired in 1991. He had completed the requirements for his B.S. from the University of Connecticut and he taught school for a couple of years, but felt confined. He bought a Diesel Truck and began to do long haul, over the road.
The last time I saw Sonny was when his father passed away in in 1987 here in Odessa. His mother, Pearl had adopted me and she still to this day calls me one of her sons. She is 90 years old now and is living in Kentucky. Sonny began to have back trouble and thought it was due to driving. It kept getting worse and finally in January 2007, he went to see a doctor. After many tests, he was diagnosed with advanced Stage four, prostate cancer, a condition attributed to his Vietnam Service with the Marine Air Wing from the effects of Agent Orange. Sonny lasted six months and passed way in September 27, 2007. He was cremated and his cremains were buried in the Kentucky Veteran's Cemtery in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Sonny's daughter had died before he death, thought to be a suicide and after his death, his sister Cynthia passed away. Sonny's mother has already buried her husband, both of her children and one grandchild. She resides with Cynthia's daughter in Kentucky.