Calvin Leroy Van Pelt (September 4, 1924 – September 25, 2011)
(obituary). Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt Funeral Home. Retrieved October 9, 2011. was a businessman in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Born in

Alsea, Oregon Alsea () is an unincorporated community in Benton County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is on Oregon Route 34 and the Alsea River. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Alsea as a census-designated place (CDP). ...

, in 1924, he served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was among those who landed on

Utah Beach Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...

as part of the Northern France, Ardennes and Rhineland Campaigns. After World War II, Van Pelt returned to Oregon, where he graduated from

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. The university maintains three other campuses in Eugene, Hillsboro, and Wood ...

in 1949 and subsequently from the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management in 1950. He began his career as an export trainee with Jantzen, Inc. in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, and eventually became manager of Jantzen's international division. Later, he held executive positions at Columbia Exporters,

White Stag A white stag (or white hind for the female) is a white-colored red deer, wapiti, sika deer, chital, fallow deer, roe deer, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, reindeer, moose, or rusa, explained by a condition known as leucism that causes its h ...

, Sea-Pac International and Martin Sales International. He also worked more than 20 years to establish the World Trade Center in Portland and served several years as Honorary Consul to the Republic of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

.Pacific University Alumni Awards
/ref> Van Pelt served on the Pacific University Alumni

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

, as an Elder for the

Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in the United States is a federally recognized confederation of more than 27 Native American tribes and bands who once inhabited an extensive homeland of more than 20 million acres from northern Califo ...

and several other community-based boards, foundations and committees. In June 2007, Pacific University bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award to Van Pelt and five other graduates. Pacific University Board of Directors
/ref> Van Pelt died on September 25, 2011, in Portland, Oregon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Pelt, Calvin Leroy 1924 births 2011 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II People from Benton County, Oregon Pacific University alumni Businesspeople from Oregon Native American people from Oregon