John Leo Callahan, Jr.

John Leo Callahan, Jr., Jack or Jackie to family and friends, passed away Sat, Feb 27, 2016, at age 89 – just 6 days shy of his 90th birthday. He was born Mar 3, 1926 in Boston, MA, to John Leo Callahan, Sr. and Irene Matilda Davis Callahan. Jackie was married to Mary Frances “Mimi” Dunlap Callahan for 67 years until her death in Dec 2013. He met Mimi riding the train to New York while in the service during WWII. For Jackie, it was love at first sight and, fortunately for all of us, he didn’t let her get away! Jackie joined the US Navy in Mar 1943 at the age of 17. He served as a Gunner’s Mate First Class on the USS Meriwether in WWII and then transitioned into service on the USS Monrovia during the Korean Conflict. He was awarded the Victory Medal for WWII. After he left the Navy, Jackie and Mimi were married Apr. 13, 1946 and moved to Jackson, MS, where they lived with Mary’s parents until buying their first home together in 1951 in south Jackson on Barwood Drive. They lived there for 55 years, raising their five children, until 2006 when they moved to Ocean Springs, MS. Jackie was a founding member of St. Therese Catholic Church in Jackson, MS. The church and adjoining school opened late in 1956. Except for their eldest child, Michael, all of their children were students of the school. He was a member of the church until the early 1980s. Jackie became a “Jack of all trades”. He learned the air conditioning trade when AC was just beginning to be installed in many commercial buildings and was unheard of in most private homes at the time. Later he switched to outside construction. For several years he worked on the construction of DFW airport in Dallas. He owned his own businesses – “Jack Callahan, Inc.” and later “Calco”. With his own crews, he erected cell phone towers and built mini-storage warehouses. His last big project was building steel frame homes that could withstand tornados and hurricanes. Even though he only had a 10th grade education, with his hard work he was able to provide his family a very comfortable life. Jackie had many varied interests through the years including raising goats and horses to camping, canoeing, sailing and exploring. He was a long time member of the Jackson Yacht club. He and Mimi traveled across the US, Caribbean and Mexico. Jackie had a restless spirit and often loaded up the family in the VW van to go exploring on a Sunday afternoon. The back roads called to him and he had to see what was around the next bend. The common theme with all these activities was family. He instilled that love of travel in all his children. Jackie is survived by his son, Michael John Callahan and his wife Teresa Renee Callahan, daughters Kathryn Christine McClure and her husband Dwight McClure, Alice Irene Gabriel, Mary Maureen Mixon and her husband Kit Mixon, Leta Teresa Callahan and her husband Ben Douglas; grandchildren Diana Gabriel DeRussy and her husband Max DeRussy, Sarah Mixon Kelley and her husband Ryan Kelley, William Gabriel, Erin Callahan, Em Douglas, Hannah Douglas and Molly Douglas; and great-grandchildren Cole, Amelia and Charlotte Kelley. The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude to the staff of The Gardens and Camellia Hospice for their loving care of both Mimi and Jackie. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Camellia Hospice, 1001 Howard Avenue, Biloxi, MS, 39530. A memorial service to celebrate Jackie’s life will be held Tuesday, Mar 8, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at The Gardens, 1260 Ocean Springs Rd, Ocean Springs, MS.; a reception will be held immediately afterwards. His interment will be at a later date at the Biloxi National Cemetery. The Ocean Springs Chapel of Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.