This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to speak about Lou Callaway in Rotary at his memorial service. This is an excerpt from my remembrance.
Lou was president of our club in 2009-2010, and he served 5 years on our board. He was a multiple Paul Harris Fellow. In 2014, his Rotary sponsors Dave McDowell and Doug Freeth presented him with our club’s Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding dedication to his profession, his community, and our club exemplifying Service Above Self. Lou contributed to many, many activities and projects in our club. He participated in the development of our Centennial Project – the Universal Access Playground at Gallup Park. He held a leadership role in Strategic Planning, tied balloons at Touch-A-Truck, planted trees in our Ann Arbor Parks, held a leadership role in our annual Golf and Tennis Outing, and he and Janet were regulars on the links for those fundraising events. He was a long-time member of our club’s Gold bowling team. You name it – Lou was game for it!
I had the privilege to serve on the board during Lou’s presidency. It was a gift, and I consider him one of a handful of people who taught me how to be a leader. When I was debating about signing on as club president, he agreed to meet over coffee to discuss it, and as we were leaving Zingerman’s, the picture is forever in my mind, he hugged me and looked at me directly and said, “We’ve got your back.” And, he did.
Another time he had my back happened earlier in my Rotary career – was my “Me Too” experience. As our club transitioned to including women, some men were slower than others to jump on the ‘let’s be more inclusive’ bus. Not Lou. One day, he and I were seated together having lunch when a fellow Rotarian sat down and said something inappropriate to me in regard to my gender – and before I could respond, Lou spoke up on my behalf. And, it didn’t end there, he, along with a couple of other club leaders, met with the individual, and suffice to say, that ended that. Again, he had my back.
I asked some Rotarians for their reflections about Lou.
Dave McDowell wrote, “I think this story is a window into Lou’s character: When he was appointed the first African-American manager of a Ford plant in Chicago, it happened that his father worked in that plant. Ford told Lou that his dad would have to move to another plant, I guess because of company policy. Lou told them that he would not accept the promotion under those conditions. Ford, of course, backed down, and Lou went on to manage several plants through his career.
What always impressed me about Lou was how down to earth he was. In his service on boards, his views were always grounded in common sense, yet he understood that the board’s job was to envision the future of the organization. That said, he was fun to be with, whether sitting at lunch at Rotary or on the golf course.”
Beth Fitzsimmons, who followed Lou as club president, wrote this, “Lou was a very special man, and one would not know that by talking to him directly. He was very humble and never bragged about his accomplishments.”
Beth also wrote about an incident when she served as Regent of EMU, “We had recently hired Chris Creighton as the football coach. He came from Drake University, the same university where Lou played as middle linebacker for the football team. Lou was especially impressed by Chris’s coaching style–Chris did not allow profanity on his football team– almost unheard of in football circles.
Lou told Chris that he was inducted into Double D at Drake. Chris was really impressed– this award is only given to a few Drake graduates– those who have achieved academic success and then given back to the community. Chris was in awe of Lou. Lou attended several EMU football games to cheer on Chris Creighton and his leadership style. Now that was a mutual admiration society.”
These examples clearly demonstrate Lou’s commitment to leading a life grounded in the tenets of the 4-Way Test. Lou loved Rotary. He never missed a noon meeting if he could help it. He said, “No matter what language we speak, there’s camaraderie and community among Rotarians everywhere.”
Our club is left with a big hole at the passing of this man. After Saturday’s tribute, Patricia Garcia remarked about the gift he left to this world, when his grandchildren talked about the lessons they learned from him in regard to living one’s life with grace, dignity, and joy – lessons they now carry with them. And, so he lives on – in the actions of the younger generation, in our actions, – and in our hearts. Thank you for the opportunity to remember Lou Callaway – a cherished, gem of a man – a Rotarian’s Rotarian.
