Former Perry Mayor Barbara Calhoun dies at age 86

PERRY -- Barbara Calhoun, the city’s first councilwoman and only female mayor, is being remembered for her strong leadership and advocacy for the city.

Calhoun, who served as mayor from 1980 through 1984, was 86.

Calhoun lived in Perry since 1950 and was sworn in as a council member in 1975 after a 26-year career as a civil service computer programmer at Robins Air Force Base.

At the time, it wasn’t common for women to participate in government. When Calhoun ran for office, it didn’t cross her mind that she could face problems because of her sex. Though unsuccessful in her first campaign for City Council in 1945, she was elected months later to fill a vacated seat.

“I had worked hand-in-hand with men when not too many women were in my field,” Calhoun told The Telegraph in July of 1978. “It never occurred to me that things were so different on the outside. ... It was normal, as far as I was concerned, to run.”

Ralph Gentry, 83, served on the City Council with Calhoun under former Mayor James McKinley. Gentry also served as a councilman when Calhoun was elected mayor in 1980.

“I think everybody was glad to see (Calhoun become mayor),” Gentry said. “She had demonstrated on council that she was very capable of being a good leader. ... She wasn’t afraid to do anything. She would stand up to anybody.”

Calhoun announced her candidacy for mayor while serving as acting mayor after McKinley’s resignation.

“The name of the game at City Hall is teamwork,” Calhoun told the council, according to Telegraph archives. “The six-member council and the mayor make a seven-person team.”

Gentry described Calhoun as “a tough person” who accomplished a great deal as mayor.

“I can remember that most all the streets got paved under her time,” Gentry said. “We acquired a lot of property for the city while she was mayor. She helped racial relations a great deal, really.”

Former State Rep. Larry Walker worked closely with Mayor Calhoun when his law firm represented the city. Walker, also a personal friend of Calhoun’s, compared her to Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female Prime Minister known as the “Iron Lady” for her uncompromising politics and leadership style.

“(Calhoun) was a lot like (Thatcher) to me in the way she operated,” Walker said. “Margaret Thatcher was in a tough position being a prime minister and being a female. ... In a smaller scale, it was the same way in Perry. ... (Calhoun) could play the game and she knew how to operate in what had previously been an all-man’s world.”

Walker’s strongest memory of Calhoun is the time he pitched to her the possibility of locating Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry. Calhoun was “immediately affirmative about it,” Walker said.

“She could see around the corner as to what this might could mean to Perry,” Walker said. “She marshalled the forces of the city of Perry to support it and they did unanimously.”

Modern political leaders could learn from Calhoun, Walker said.

“She was very forthright. If you ask her something, you better be prepared for what she thought and her answer because she didn’t sugar-coat things much,” Walker said.

Mayor Jimmy Faircloth wasn’t living in Perry when Calhoun was mayor, but said he got to know her in the 1990s when the two served on the Hospital Authority of Houston County.

“I think the world of her,” Faircloth said. “She was a ... very smart and no-nonsense leader. She was one of my mentors. I valued her opinion.”

Calhoun, a native of Lincolnton, was married for 56 years to the late John Blue Calhoun III. The couple didn’t have children, but raised Leon Watson, Calhoun’s deceased sister’s son.

Visitation is scheduled for Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Watson-Hunt Funeral Home. A graveside service in Lincolnton is scheduled for Monday.

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 4:56 PM.