Acknowledgment is made by his grateful children of the death of Calvin Stuart Herrala following COVID at almost 100 years of age on Sunday, June 16, 2024 in Ely, Minnesota.

Cal was born on Nov. 6, 1924 to Andrew Jalmari and Tyne Marie (Ojala) Herrala.  In his early teens he had established lifelong interests in reading, history, music, and the development and printing of black and white film.  He graduated from Ely Memorial High School in 1942 and began study at Ely Junior College.  In April 1943 he was inducted into the US Army and commenced training in radar operation and meteorology. This prepared him for service on Iwo Jima using radiosondes to measure winds aloft so that bombers could set out on their sorties toward Japan with calculated loads of fuel.  Calvin is one of the last veterans of World War II in the area.

Following discharge in early 1946 he enrolled at Harvard University to earn his degree in physics in 1949.   Several summers he spent working for the US Forest Service on the Angleworm Trail.  On his June 18 graduation day, he was in Ely where he married the former Nancy Byrd Brownell.

From 1951 to 1989 Cal worked in sales engineering for several offices of Minneapolis-Honeywell in the South and Northeast.  The last 20 years of his career with Honeywell called him to move his family for 40 satisfying years to live in Pompey Center, New York.  He and Nancy Byrd raised their children to adulthood there and joined organizations supporting arts and music among other activities.  When Byrd died, Calvin returned to live in Ely for the remainder of his days singing in the church choirs at Grace Lutheran and First Presbyterian Church of Ely, driving through the terrain he loved, walking the width of the town, and reading.  Courage and patient humility were required for him to endure the long, daily frustration of Alzheimer’s Disease, but his personality never varied from its pleasant, humble, humorous custom.

He provided a fine example to his children who have added to his family 7 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.   Daughter Jennifer Herrala (Mrs. Charles) Webb of Wappingers Falls, New York and Matthew B. Herrala (Mrs. Carole Balcom Herrala) of Camden, New York survive him.  Calvin and Nancy Byrd Herrala have seven grandchildren: Anastasia Webb (Mrs. Jonathan) Butcher of Raleigh, North Carolina; Evangeline Webb (Mrs. Nikhil) Jose of Jackson, Tennessee; Isaac Webb of Ivins, Utah; Andrew (Tasha Proper) Herrala, New York; Jewel Webb of Miami, Florida, Jonathon Herrala (Cory Hamilton) of Ilion, New York, and Martha Webb (Mrs. James) Kelly of Louisville, Kentucky.  The great-grandchildren are Josiah, Lydia, Micah, and Ezra Butcher, Nasya Jose, and Hudson Kelly all at home.

Cal was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Nancy Byrd Herrala, in 2005 and their son Brooks A. Herrala in 1970.  For almost 7 years he lived in Ely with his dear partner Marian Rautio Cherne who died in 2012.  A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 20, 2024 at Grace Lutheran Church in Ely, Minnesota with visitation one hour prior.

Family arrangements have been entrusted to Kerntz Funeral Home.