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By Bonnie Bartel Latino

As many Atmore natives will know, the sunny, sweet, popular former head Blue Devil cheerleader and a 1963 Atmorala Beauty, Susan Staff Calvert recently passed away at her home in Haleyville.
Her services were held Monday, May 19, in Haleyville. (See Susan’s obituary on Page 3A of today’s Atmore Advance.)
When I heard this sad news, my heart went out to Susan’s son and daughter, her grandchildren and her surviving siblings. I also thought about a special group of loving friendships that Susan and her childhood girlfriends reformed later in life. They all grew up in Atmore. Their collective friendship has lasted almost as many years as the women, most of whom are now octogenarians.
I thought especially of one of those women, my close friend Celine Wood Meador. I reached out to her in North Carolina, and she provided insight into her friendship with Susan that was very much like a sisterhood.
As I wrote this article on Sunday, Celine and her sweet husband, Aubrey were en route to Haleyville. The plan was to drive to Birmingham, where they would spend the night before picking up Fifi Sneed Twitty early the next morning and traveling on to Tuscaloosa to collect Judy Smith Stewart Carpenter. The group would then continue on to Haleyville for Susan’s services.
“Susan and I became friends at age three through our parents,” Celine said. “We started Aunt Elsie’s Kindergarten on Horner Street with about ten others in our class.
“All through school, Susan spent Friday nights at my house and I spent Sunday nights at hers. It was as if we had two families. We were ECHS cheerleaders together, and we both went to Alabama, where we pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma.”
Susan and Celine both fell in love at Alabama and were eventually engaged. Of course, Susan went wedding dress shopping with Celine. Susan adored the dress Celine chose – so Susan wore it, too. That’s sisterhood!
After Susan graduated from college and married Johnny Calvert, the couple moved to Texas. She and Celine lost touch for a time, but Celine continued, “When we reconnected it was always as if only a moment had passed — rather than years. Susan was an outstanding student, Blue Devil cheerleader captain, a serious believer in God and a kind person to everyone.”
Celine went on to refer to the annual beach gathering of a group of 10 women that began over 20 years ago. The friends had all grown up together in Atmore.
Celine added, “We had such a great time together that we have continued the tradition — every single year since then; first at Judy Wise’s house and always after that at the Staff Cottage in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. We had to suddenly cancel this year (the week before Easter) because Susan’s health had declined.
“Although we were sometimes geographically separated for decades, it has been an amazing and wonderful thing for us all to maintain our lifelong friendships with roots deeply imbedded in Atmore.”
As I knew Celine, a consummate wordsmith would in her grief, she turned to writing her feelings in poetic form to better understand them. By the time we connected only a few days after Susan had gone to glory, Celine had already written the following Sonnet for Susan.

SONNET FOR SUSAN

By Celine Wood Meador

Today my dearest friend went home,
Eighty years we’d passed – save one.
She is at peace I know and yet …
What my mind can grasp, my heart forgets.
I know that we will meet again,
Now and forever, closest friends,
In the warmth of God’s embrace,
Grief‘s sad tears will be erased.
But, for now, my heart is broken,
For all the words we’d never spoken.
For all the memories left to make,
For all life’s journeys we can’t take.
Praise God we have the “Blessed Hope;”
I thought those words as my heart broke.

In lieu of flowers, the family of Susan Staff Calvert has requested donations be made to:
Big Oak Boys Ranch
250 Jake Mintz Rd., Gadsden, Ala. 35905
The social services organization is a Christian-centered home for boys founded by University of Alabama football standout John Croyle in 1974 – the same year he graduated from Alabama.
According to their website, “Mr. Croyle, his wife and their staff have given nearly 2,000 (boys) – most often abused, neglected or abandoned – a new life.”
The Croyle’s son Brodie, a former Alabama football star and NFL quarterback, has served as chief operating officer of the ranch for over a decade.