rss
mobile
Feeds
But information about John Calvert, who friends describe as reserved by nature, has been harder to come by.
Born in Greensboro, N.C., John Calvert, 47, persevered through a difficult family life, those who know him said. His father, Lewis, died when John was in high school. His mother, Rachel, died later in his life.
Those two deaths were followed by the death of his only sibling, Scott.
The twowere very close, "Frick and Frack," a family friend said.
His family didn't have much money, even though his father always dressed as if he did.
"I believe John created what he has," said first cousin Ann Skidmore of Wilkesboro, N.C.
A DETERMINED START
In high school, John was one of two boys who worked part-time for a company that manufactured car parts and other products. It was there he went out on the owners' boat. That trip may have inspired his later interest in yachting, said Rosemary Troxler, who ran the business with her husband.
"He was so young, but John was really good about following through," she said. "You could ask him to change the oil in the car or fix the boat and you could count on him to do it."
John had always been determined to attend Georgia Tech. He did. His two boats are a nod to his alma mater. One is the "Yellow Jacket." The other is "Buzz," the name of the school's mascot.
John joined a fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, and graduated with a mechanical engineering degree in 1983. He rarely returned home except to attend major family events. Most of them were funerals.
"He asked me to marry him once," said Kimberly Black of Boone, N.C., "then I saw him later in life and thought to myself that I should have married him."
By then, Calvert was already successful and had married Elizabeth White, an outgoing and intelligent woman who became his true partner in life, friends said.
A SUCCESSFUL LIFE
After college, John got a job with Florida Power & Light as an energy advisor, said his friend and former co-worker Kerry Wilson. Around 1987, a year before he married Elizabeth, John worked for A&C Consultants in Atlanta.
Elizabeth Calvert worked for 14 years as an attorney and vice president of United Parcel Service's legal department in Atlanta. Within the past year, she joined HunterMaclean in Savannah.
In 1998, he went to work for Duke Solutions, a division of Duke Power.
When the company scaled back, he began fixing up the couple's home, which was modest compared to others in its upscale Atlanta neighborhood, said Mark Malaer, a friendwho helped with the work.
As the Calverts spent more time on Hilton Head Island, they fell in love with the area. Business opportunities also began to open up.
They frequented The Crazy Crab in Harbour Town, sometimes up to four days running. They were such regulars that Marty Pellicci, the restaurant's manager, made them dishes that weren't on the menu.
In the off-season, the restaurant would crank up the volume of the television quiz-show "Jeopardy" so Elizabeth could call out the answers from the bar. Like all good Southern women, she has an affinity for fried chicken, Pellicci said.
When they heard a waiter at the restaurant was a Notre Dame football fan, they took him to Atlanta to see the Fighting Irish play Georgia Tech. Their guest was someone they barely knew.
The couple complemented each other well, playfully teasing one other.
On the Sunday before they disappeared, John suggested creating a "Dancing with the Stars" betting pool at The Crazy Crab.
"Liz turned to him and said, 'Oh John, you're the only one that cares about that,' " recalled Pellicci.
WANING HOPES
Chris McIntire, who operates the vacation-rental yacht "Southern Comfort," said John is the kind of guy who is always willing to lend a hand around the marina.
McIntire once saw him lugging jumper cables to start a stranger's boat. He is always willing to grab a dock line or give someone a ride around the island, friends said. That's why some of them initially thought John might have given someone a ride only to have something go terribly wrong.
But "this is way deeper than that," McIntire said.
As hard as it is for their friends to admit, hope that the pair will be found alive is waning.
"I don't think so," said Pellicci. "I think most people don't think so, whether they say it or not. This is such a shame."
