Calvin Clendaniel

R. CALVIN "CAL" CLENDANIEL, 89

LINCOLN - R. Calvin “Cal” Clendaniel, “rapidly approaching middle-age” at age 89, passed away peacefully at Milford Memorial Hospital, on Monday, August 29, 2016, embraced by his loving family.

Cal was born in “Lincoln City”, Delaware on October 7, 1926, the son of Harry Edgar and Katherine Beardsley Clendaniel.  He continued to live in the same house where he was born until he was 80, when he and the love of his life, Virginia “Ginny” (Lindale) Clendaniel, built a new house across the street.  Cal loved to give tours of the new house, pointing out the angles he created to optimize views of his beloved Lincoln neighborhood.

In addition to his parents, Cal was preceded in death by, a brother, Harry E. Clendaniel and sister, Jean A. (Clendaniel) Wilkins.

He is survived by Ginny, his wife of 65 years, daughter Jane Buddenbohn and her husband Ken, son Bob Clendaniel and his wife Janet, grandchildren Adam Buddenbohn and wife Ashleigh, Alex Buddenbohn, Erin Clendaniel, Rebecca (Becky) Clendaniel Arnett and husband Bryan, Stefanie Clendaniel, and Robert (Rob) Calvin Clendaniel, III.  He was also recently blessed with a great-grandson, Alaric Buddenbohn.

Cal graduated from Milford High School in 1944, and then entered the University of Delaware’s Civil Engineering program, but was forced to leave after three years so that he could  care for his invalid parents.  Undaunted, he continued to work toward his dream of becoming a professional architect, which he achieved in 1961.  During that time, he fell in love with Virginia Lindale.  They married on July 7, 1951 and last month they celebrated their 65th Wedding Anniversary.

Cal was a natural at turning ideas into reality.  This was apparent during his boyhood when he converted his parents’ unused corn-crib and chicken coop into an “old west” saloon and jail so that he and his buddies had a proper place to play cowboys.  He used that boyish “can-do” spirit throughout his architectural career, where he made many clients’ dreams come true, often on a shoestring budget.

Cal started his architectural design business in the 1950’s and it grew from meeting with clients around a folding card table in Cal and Ginny’s living room to a thriving practice that is now the oldest continuously operating architectural firm in lower Delaware.  He retired in 2011.  During his fifty-plus years of practice, he designed many well-known buildings, including the Milford City Hall, which was his first major job.  He also designed the Dover, Lewes, Seaford and Smyrna City Halls, several municipal police stations, firehouses, courthouses, churches, shopping centers and office buildings, as well as private residences too numerous to count throughout Kent and Sussex Counties.  After the devastating March 1962 storm, he was the architect responsible for the re-construction of several businesses that were destroyed on the Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, including the Atlantic Sands Hotel and Dolle’s Candyland.  Later in his career, he was particularly proud of his role in the design of the Evelyn I. Morris Early Childhood Center, which involved the expansion, renovation and re-opening of the elementary school that he had attended in Lincoln, and is named for his (and his children’s) first-grade teacher.  He loved the fact that four of his grandchildren then attended school there too.

Cal was a long-time and devoted member of the Avenue United Methodist Church and served on its Board of Trustees and as co-leader (with Ginny) of its youth group.  He served as President of the Lincoln School Board during the de-segregation of the Lincoln School District and its subsequent consolidation into the Milford School District.  He was a founding member of the Shawnee Country Club and designed its clubhouse.  He was a founding member of the Lincoln Community Center, Inc.’s Board of Trustees and oversaw the design and construction of the Lincoln Community Center, which still serves the Lincoln area.  He also served on the Delaware State Board of Registration and Examination of Architects for many years and served as its president for one term.

Cal was an accomplished, self-taught piano player and loved to play for people, especially for sing-alongs at the many parties that he and Ginny threw for family and friends.  He knew all the pop standards and also loved to play jazz.

Cal loved people and always had a quick one-liner that would break the ice with anybody.  He never lost that knack to make people laugh, even when he was very ill in the hospital.  He was a kid at heart and loved playing games and visiting Disney World with his grandchildren. They dubbed him the “Chief Playmate” and he was always inventing games for them to play.  He also loved to play baseball and softball and was the manager of the local Lincoln softball team for many years.  Later, he enjoyed playing ball in the back-yard with his son’s friends.

Cal truly appreciated the fact that he had lived a full life and was fond of saying he had “no regrets”.  He beat cancer three times, and often acknowledged that “Someone is watching over me”.  He also often talked about how fortunate he had been to have a career that he loved, and that he had been able to do everything he wanted, including travelling the world with Ginny and many of their friends. He will be greatly missed by many people whose lives he touched.

Services will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, September 2, 2016 at the Avenue United Methodist Church, 20 N. Church St, Milford, where friends may call after 10:00 a.m.

Burial will follow the services in the Lincoln Cemetery, Lincoln.