Dale Eugene Callihan

Dale Callihan passed away peacefully on February 5, 2024 in the beloved Fortuna, CA home he shared with his wife and loving companion of 65 years Jacquie Callihan.

Beyond being the most caring husband, he was a kind and wonderful father, grandfather, and great-grandfather to a family that was his proudest legacy. Dale was a lifelong grocer having started working in the business at the age of thirteen in a small corner grocery store on 4th Street in Eureka and retiring more than fifty years later from a long career managing Food Mart stores in Eureka and Fortuna. Those he worked with fondly remember him by his nickname “Kelly.”

Dale was born on June 4, 1936 in Eureka and was the third child of Shirley and Helen Callihan. He spent the first year in the historic lumber town of Falk where his parents were born and raised. He then grew up in Eureka graduating from Eureka High School in 1954 as vice president of a class of students who remained close for a lifetime. He especially enjoyed helping to organize and attend the regular class reunions for more than 50 years. Because of his family heritage in Falk, where his grandfather was the Mill Boss, and memories of visiting relatives there along with a trove of photos, he was interviewed and contributed enthusiastically to the 2018 book on the people and history of Falk written by Julie Clark. The first in his family to attend college, Dale experienced some of his favorite years at Humboldt State University where he met his beautiful and talented future bride Jacquelyn Jean McLeod. Dale completed his Humboldt State career as the 1958 Associated Student Body President.

Dale settled into the grocery business in Eureka, beginning with the Food Mart stores owned by the Vellutini brothers, then owning the Food Center grocery store in the mid-sixties, and returning to work for Food Mart in Eureka and later in Fortuna. Dale was deeply respected by the people who worked for him and with him in the grocery business, some to this day referring to him as the “best boss they ever had.” During this time, they had four children Mike, Dana, Brenda, and Lisa. Jacquie then started a 35-year career as a teacher and principal, and always had Dale’s support at work and at home, compassionate and ahead of his time in caring for his family without regard to traditional roles and expectations. He loved following the sports, academic, and musical achievements of his children and grandchildren, becoming an enduring spectator at Fortuna High for two generations of talented scholars and athletes.

Dale remembered his childhood outings in the redwoods warmly, and was thrilled to purchase a hilltop home in Fortuna in 1970 with Rohner Park’s redwood forest right out the back door. He maintained the park areas near the house for some 50 years and enthusiastically agreed to have the historic cross on the hill moved to the family property when it could no longer be housed on city property. Dale and Jacquie found a cozy cabin for the family in the hills of Southern Humboldt’s Phillipsville community in 1989 and loved spending weekends there sprucing up the place and creating a fun-filled sunny hideaway for their children and grandchildren and countless other friends and family. In 1979, Dale and Jacquie loaded up the family for a first summer trip to Lake Tahoe and fell in love with the mountains and lake. After returning to Tahoe each summer for 20 years, they purchased and refurbished a home and property that became a memorable year-round destination. At Tahoe, Dale enthusiastically but judiciously played the quarter slots, proudly amassing enough winnings to purchase some of his favorite art pieces. He relished telling his kids about his slot strategies and techniques, to which his son affectionately told him, “You’re a sick man, dad,” which he delighted in repeating to others. He had a strong wit and sarcastic humor and would say to his children when making a new purchase, “I’m just spending your inheritance.”

At home in Fortuna and at the other properties, Dale designed and built beautiful wood decks and fences. He was a meticulous, self-taught carpenter. He loved having family and family friends up for celebrations and for the annual Rodeo barbeque. Dale loved the heritage and stories of family and place, from his Callihan and Fleming history in Falk and Eureka to Jacquie’s McLeod, Meisser, and Biasca history in Fortuna, Rohnerville, and Ferndale. He revered Jacquie’s father and mother Bruce and Ruby McLeod. He was fond of telling stories the family lore to friends and family and to people simply walking by in the majestic park in his backyard.

Dale is survived by his wife Jacquie and his children and their spouses and partners Mike and Sue Callihan, Dana Callihan and David Panales, Brenda and Blaine Sigler, and Lisa and Eric Stockwell. He adored his grandchildren Patrick Callihan, Miles (Dylan) Callihan, Hillary (Calen) Chapman, Freya Marriott, Isolde (Ani) Callihan, Gareth Callihan, Shannon (Emily) Nomann, Kaitlyn (Jesse) Lambert, Claire Stockwell, and Collin Stockwell, and great-grandchildren Camden, Maxwell, June, and Tatum.

Dale was preceded in death by his sisters Shirlene Viale and Elve Mae Cotton. He was influential in the lives of Shirlene’s six sons Cliff, Jarl, Eddie, John, Joe, and Jeff Viale and with Elve Mae’s three daughters Diane, Linda, and Janine. He was also preceded in death by Jacquie’s sister, Judy McLeod Meadors Michelet, and was an extraordinary uncle to her daughters Tami, Kathy, and Teresa.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, March 2, 2024 at the Monday Club, 610 Main Street, Fortuna, CA.

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