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Pageant co-chair, Calhoun, dies at 36Posted: 6/28/02 by John Sucansky Julie Kay (Schmidt) Calhoun, 36, died suddenly June 25 at her home from heart complications. She was a co-chair for the Miss Lakeville Pageant, a math teacher at Apple Valley High School, mother of three and active member of Hosanna Lutheran Church in Lakeville. Kristin Babcock, Calhounís co-chair for the pageant, said this yearís event was dedicated to her rather than cancelled because Calhoun worked so hard for it and would not have wanted anything but success for it. ìShe had a passion for pageants,î said Babcock. Calhounís best and life-long friend Julie Erlandson said they were always there for each other. ìIt was always Julie and Julie,î Erlandson said about her friendship with Calhoun throughout junior high, high school and the present. As a member of Hosanna, Calhoun was active in the churchís dance ministry and involved with children and the infant/toddler center. Babcock said Calhoun had recently danced in a production called ìGenerationsî at the church in which the congregationís older generations are asked to pass on what they have learned to younger members. During the dance, Calhoun passed a scarf which represented her knowledge, to Tara Larson, 11, to symbolize the message in dance. Larson who remembers Calhoun as always wearing a smile, said she still carries the scarf with her. ìEvery time she would come down the hallway, she would come with a smile. She was very kind and nice,î said Larson. Part of her responsibilities as a pageant co-chair were to write the choreography for the contestantsí production number, arrange for sponsors and find judges for the event. Babcock said her passion for pageants stemmed from her participation in them in the past. Calhoun was a contestant in the Little Miss Broadway pageant when she was 7 and then the Minnesota Miss Broadway pageant when she was 16. She recently decided to take a five-year leave of absence from her teaching position at Apple Valley High School in order to spend more time with her three children, said Apple Valley Principal Steve Degenaar. Calhoun began her career as a teacher at Apple Valley High School in 1997 and had been teaching geometry and accelerated algebra II until last year when she began her leave. ìJulie is somebody we wanted to get back into the building as soon as she was ready. Many parents requested her as a math teacher,îsaid Degenaar. Right now the school is organizing a list for teachers in order to make arrangements to help Calhounís husband with household chores and the children, Degenaar said. The school is also participating in a fund raiser for scholarships for the children. ìWell over 10 percent of the school directly had her as a teacher,î he added. Distance was never an issue for Calhounís concern for her friends and family. Erlandson said Calhoun once flew to California to help during a difficult family crisis and later gave her a place to live until Erlandson could find an apartment when she moved back to the Twin Cities. ìShe was always there for me,î said Erlandson. Calhoun is survived by her husband Christopher; children Anna, Thomas and Emily; brother, Joseph Schmidt; mother Kay Kramer; father, Robert (Sue) Schmidt; grandmother, Agnes Kramer; parents-in-law, Harvey and Beth; in-laws, Sarah, Dave, John, Robert and Alanna. Services were held at Hosanna Lutheran Church in Lakeville. Memorials to a scholarship fund for her children are preferred in lieu of flowers. © Thisweek Newspapers |
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