Brian William McCallum

Brian William McCallum 66, loving and devoted husband of Susan (Snedeker) (Kadel) McCallum  passed on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017 @ 6:20pm.  Born December 11, 1950 in Toronto, Ontario, Ca. to Dorothy Mae (Leavers) and Gerald McCallum.  Brian absolutely loved his family, friends, fishing, and working alongside his wife, at Kadel's Hallmark Shoppe at Plaza North Shopping Center.  His humor, love, and kindness will be greatly missed. Brian had learned on Sunday (10/29) that he was 100% Leukemia free after a long journey to, and following, a bone marrow stem cell transplant, thanks to a match with an unrelated donor.   Unfortunately, he suffered a stroke on Monday and passed peacefully Friday just as the last words of the Lord's Prayer were spoken over him.  He told everyone he could about BETHEMATCH.ORG and the registry.  "Be a donor, it saved my life!" he would say! This generosity gave him a year we would not have enjoyed with this great Dad, Papa, husband and friend.

Brian leaves behind: Sister, Leanna McCallum Rooney (Daniel); Sister, Marilyn Harrison and husband Jim (Michelle, Michael); Janette (Horne) McCallum, former wife; his children & grandchildren: Gerald McCallum (Jerred, Jaidyn, Jewel); James McCallum (Randi, Tyler, Alexander); John McCallum (Cian, Auyle); Jennifer McCallum (Michael, Evan, Emma, Aiden) a great-grandson, William; and step-families of Meredith and Nick Osburn (Sadie, Griffin); step-son, Lucas Kadel, who preceded him in death in 2016; and brother-in-law, James Snedeker (Loretta) and family.

A celebration of life is planned for Tuesday, November 14 at 6:30pm at DeBaun's Springhill Funeral Home. Fellowship and food will start at 5pm. If anyone has any special memories or anecdotes, please consider sharing them with us as a tribute to Brian's life.  

Please, no flowers! Brian would rather you come tell some funny stories and cheer up his wife.

One could go to http://join.bethematch.org/HonorBrian and see if you can be a donor and save a life. They will send you a free swab kit once you register. His special link will show all those who register in his honor orMemorial donations, in Brian McCallum's honor, may be made to:

IBMT Patient Assistance Fund Contribution ( IBMT is short for Indiana Bone Marrow and Transplantation )

Attn: Program Coordinator

8111 S. Emerson Avenue, Suite 207

Indianapolis, Indiana 46237

This program helped find, and provide for us an apartment, for almost 5 weeks while Brian had to remain close to the hospital. We could not have arranged to be so close without their support.

As a child, Brian spent summers with his sister and grandparents on the Muskoka River in Bracebridge, Ontario, Ca.  He loved to relive his unfettered adventures on the river with his grandfather's boat and small engine, alone on the river as young as nine, and through the coming years. He was his own Tom Sawyer and talked of those days regularly.  Those summers are a big part of his fabric where he enjoyed the freedom to explore, meet friends and learn many lessons from his "Ganga".  These are some of his most prized past memories, being trusted to "run the river" alone.  Growing up in the Little Italy part of Toronto also left him with great friendships and memories of his teen years.  He learned at a young age he could tinker apart many things.  Stories are told of him completely taking apart his mother's sewing machine and reassembling it with only a few pieces left over! There are also many stories of Brian repairing discarded autos, some he bought for a dollar, and making them run for years!  After finishing school in 1967, he took his first job as an apprenticeship printer for a short time. Brian first married in November 1968. After their first two children were born, they moved to Calgary, Alberta, Ca. in 1973 with dreams of heading to the opportunities of the oil and westward boom.  Soon after, their other two children were born.  With his mechanical touch, Brian had no trouble finding work in the automotive industry and had a series of jobs that worked him up from mechanic to management where he continued to advance throughout his lifetime.  In 1988 he began working with the Alberta Motor Association (AMA)- part of the Canadian Automobile Association. He loved his work there with the many facets of his job, the customers, the service, and associated duties; such as a radio show as "Mr. Fix-It" where callers described their issues.  To this day, he could drive down the road and hear what was about to happen to an adjacent auto.  He also loved the mountains; hiking in them, camping, and being with friends and family in the vast space around them.  Brian moved to Kelowna, British Columbia in 1996.  For a while he helped in a restaurant endeavor where he worked alongside family as the cook and managed various aspects of their diner in Ogden, BC.  His favorite part of this move was being close to family. He retired in 1999.  Summers gave him much joy with his grandchildren enjoying their time poolside, much as he enjoyed time with his Ganga. Also, canoeing and fishing the Bow River, with it's abundant beauty, was a pastime he savored and stole time away to do as often as possible. However, even having unlimited time to fish could not fulfill all of Brian's days. He returned to a small business as their service manager and worked, doing what he was an expert at until he moved to Indiana in 2005.

In 2005, Brian moved to Indiana, where he has lived with his wife Susan in Terre Haute for the past 12 years.  Married in the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas, NV they became inseparable from then on.  Being so good with people, Susan encouraged Brian to work alongside her in her business. He quickly became a special part everything; helping it grow and expand as they continued to work side by side.  Being a great cook, he became known for serving lunch on special occasions at the shop. This was one of the things Brian enjoyed as he could mingle and chat with so many special customers at his own pace.  He loved to vacation in warm places, like Florida, or on cruises, but was also known to indulge his wife in skiing in Canada.  A few life-long friends were made on those cruises but many of his favorite memories were the months spent with Susan on Vancouver Island, waiting for his final papers to live in Indiana.  Great cottages, great friends, and lasting memories were made in Black Creek, BC.

But forever more, Brian would just want you to think of him, your conversations, and smile up at him in heaven. A place he was prepared to experience, just not so soon.

A celebration of life is planned for Tuesday, November 14th. Fellowship and food at 5 pm followed by a service, at 6:30 pm where memories and anecdotes may be shared DeBaun Springhill Funeral Home.

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