Feeling the Loss of a Local Hero

Few members of Sparta exemplified the title of “Warrior” quite like Calvin Jones. Jones has been a beloved member of both the YMCA and the larger community here in Sparta for years. He tragically passed this past June, but the Y wants to remember and recognize the legacy this legend of a man left behind. Both with his fellow special athletes, his trainers, and the attitude he approached all of life with.

Nina Weston was working with Calvin for nearly a decade as his trainer. In around 2016-2017, Calvin started training with Kyle Goff at the Putnam County YMCA. This was before Goff became CEO here in Sparta. As time went on, though, Calvin found transport difficult, and that was when Kyle suggested he come to Sparta to work with Nina. Since 2018, that is where Calvin stayed.

Nina Weston had a thousand stories to share regarding Calvin’s time at the YMCA. One thing she reflected on fondly was the hugs and their car rides. Whether it was Kyle, Nina, or maybe one of the other adults who help Special Warriors out now like Adam Haston, someone would always help Calvin out with transportation.

“Something about those car rides and just getting to talk to him,” she said. “Those were really special.”

Calvin meant a lot to the world of powerlifting too, because the man was an absolute champion. He had been to well over two dozen state competitions, and he had been to about 4 nationals. And that’s not to mention the hundreds of local competitions he attended. Calvin collected 328 Gold Medals in his lifting career, earning himself a place as a national-level medalist.

Kyle said, “While there may not be a way to directly prove it, I believe in terms of Special Olympics, he has to be near the top with lifting. It’s been going on for, what, over 50 years? And Calvin has been competing for nearly half of that.  So many medals, so many accomplishments, he was one of the best.”

The two had dozens of other stories and details to share. Calvin was a caretaker for his brother. He hated Kyle’s rap music but loved country music. He loved to volunteer and help anybody who needed it. If Kyle went off to give somebody a hand with moving or landscaping work, Calvin would be the first to offer his helping hand. They never heard him curse once in all their 8 years of knowing him, and he did not like hearing curses either. He loved The Dukes of Hazzard and had a notoriously firm handshake.

Calvin never said he was hurting. He never complained once. In Nina’s words, he had “one of the biggest, purest hearts of anyone I have ever known.”

Kyle and Nina both believe that Calvin has changed the way the YMCA approaches training, Special Warriors, and the way they treat their athletes in general.

“Calvin was the beginning for Special Warriors, really,” said Nina. “He was the first and really, I think, inspired the others. He’d say, ‘I’ll show those youngins how to do it.’”

Kyle said, “We may have started something down the road, eventually, but it wouldn’t be the way it is without him. This homegrown, organic family that he helped build, that was because of him.”

Lucas Haston is another athlete who has come up behind Calvin, having started shortly after Calvin. Lucas said that Calvin was a mentor for him, and the other athletes that came along after too.

“I think he inspired courage in the team,” said Lucas. “He was always there to support the team. Last things he told me, I remember, was, ‘Lucas, do me a favor. ‘Do me a favor and keep it straight for me here.’”

“God brought me an angel,” said Nina. “He brought me an angel in 2018, and now that angel’s gone home. But behind him came many more angels, and they’re going to keep working hard like he’d want them to.”

All of Sparta has felt the loss with Calvin’s passing, but the YMCA and wider community are dedicated to honoring his memory. In October, there will be a few events dedicated in his name, such as a motorcycle ride. The YMCA’s annual meet in February of 2027 will also be dedicated to Calvin. Even if he is no longer here, Calvin’s pure heart and brave spirit have been inherited by the other athletes at the Y, who will continue to work hard to represent his legacy.