Obit: Struensee, Calvin Edward (1928 - 2017)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Struensee, Metcalf, Prokop, Northup, Murray, Dwyer, Kies, Lehndorf, Illek, Clifford, Pavey, Pernsteiner

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 10/25/2017

Struensee, Calvin Edward (15 December 1928 – 26 September 2017) With Flag

Calvin Edward Struensee, 88, died Sept. 26, 2017, in Miami, FL, after a short illness. He was born Dec. 15, 1928, in Weston Township, Clark County, Wisconsin, the first-born child of Edward O. Struensee (1906-1995) and Irene Julia (Metcalf) Struensee (1906-1974).

He was the grandchild of Joseph W. Struensee Sr. (1880-1968) and Antonie ‘Tena’ (Prokop) Struensee (1886-1966), and of Parker U. Metcalf (1869-1944) and Julia (Northup) Metcalf (1874-1927), both couples being longtime residents of Clark County. On his mother’s side, he was the direct descendant of early residents of Clark County, including Catherine (Murray) Dwyer (1822-1890), John Dwyer (1820-1882), Aliden Metcalf (1845-1925), Nelson Metcalf (1812-1882), Eliza (Kies) Metcalf (1818-1876), Francis ‘Frank’ Northup (1844-1904) and Julia (Dwyer) Northup (1852-1895). On his father’s side, his great-grandparents were William Struensee (1827-1909) and Louise (Lehndorf) Struensee (1836-1896), natives of Brandenburg Province, Germany, who settled in Oshkosh, WI area; and Jan ‘John’ Prokop (1858-1938) and Franziska ‘Francis’ (Illek) Prokop (1855-1909), who were natives of Bohemia and Moravia, respectively, (now in the Czech Republic), and who settled in Chicago, and, also resided in Levis Township, Clark County, for many years.

Calvin grew up in the rural Neillsville area and graduated from Neillsville High School in 1947. He then enlisted in the U. S. Navy. During that time, he took up mechanical engineering and earned an aircraft mechanic’s degree. After his service career, he went to work for Braniff Airlines in Dallas, TX, where he received his pilot’s license. He moved to California for a short time, and then to Miami, FL., where he worked for Arrow Airlines and Arrow Cargo, from 1981 to 2010. Calvin led an extraordinary life, flying over 50 years. Much of his life was spent in the skies rather than on the ground. Nearing the end of his aviation career, he was one of the top eight flight simulator instructors in the United States. His passion for aviation was felt by so many who knew him. During his spare time, he enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson, and driving “Big Red” (a 1961 Oldsmobile).

Calvin was married in 1949 in Merrillan to Beverly Clifford and they had one son, Michael Calvin Struensee. They were later divorced. Calvin secondly married in 1978 in London, England, to Ann Pavey, and they were divorced in 2012.

He is survived by his son, Michael, of Mesquite, TX, and, also by his former wives, Beverly and Ann. He is further survived by his sister-in-law, Rhonda Struensee-Pernsteiner, and several cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and two brothers, Dennis (1946-1975) and Harry (1933-2009).

(The writer of the above obituary was Kevin Struensee of Greenwood.)