Jon Calkins

On Valentine's Day, Jon Calkins (my dad) was born. Living with 15 brothers and sisters had a huge impact on his life. His brothers and sisters are (oldest to youngest): Harold Jr., Mike, Dan, Mary, Pat, Calvin, Donna, Susan, Pam, Tim, Tina, Marie, Janell, Mark, and Holly. After his mother got sick, he moved in with his foster family, the Bjornsons. David is the oldest, then Darren, and the youngest is Dean. He grew up in Spiritwood, North Dakota, until the fifth grade.

During the summer of the fifth grade, his family moved to Eckelson, North Dakota. Jon had only two classmates from the first to fifth grade. In the sixth grade, my dad attended Washington Grade School in Valley City, North Dakota. From the seventh to the twelfth grade, Jon attended Valley City High School. He attended North Dakota State University and received a BS in electrical engineering.

Jon worked as a farmhand all through college and also worked as an engineering intern for Virgina Power for one and a half years. As an engineer at levels one to five, he worked at Black and Veach for nine years in Kansas City.

In 1998, Jon accepted a job at Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant and was a senior systems engineer. He transferred to Black Dog Power Plant in 2005, where he worked as a senior plant engineer. In 2007, Jon was hired as Superintendent of Operations at King Power Plant. Jon recently transferred to High Bridge Power Plant as the Superintendent of Engineering.

Jon experienced several challenges in his life. When he was younger, he had three brothers in the Vietnam War. A hardship that affected his life was when his mother got sick with cancer. The move from Spiritwood to Eckelson also changed his life. Soon after, Jon graduated from high school and his mother died in 1984. The two internships in Virginia also affected Jon's life. Moving to Kansas for his first job out of college had an impact on Jon's life. While working for Black and Veach, he had multiple assignments in China, Kentucky, and Florida. Another hardship was when his brother Tim died in 2007.

Jon married my mother, Carol, and moved to Minnesota for his job. A few years later, I was born and then my sister Monica was born. Then, he started a new job at High Bridge.

My dad admires his mom and dad for putting up with and raising 16 kids. He also admires his wife for putting up with him. A quality he admires in people is recognizing and acting upon God’s call on their life. Jon’s favorite quote is, “Do everything you can in everything you do and nothing more will be asked of you”. Another one is, “Do your best.” His hobbies include, bicycling, dirt biking, hunting and fishing with the family. One of the accomplishments he is proud of is his family.

One of the many reasons I chose my dad is because he has taught me many different things and teaches me more each day. I admire him because he is patient, kind, and loving. When he was younger, they made snow forts tall enough to stand in and with multiple rooms. He says that hunting used to be a lot of fun because they knew where all the ducks and geese were. They seldom went a day without getting their limit. I admire him because he is smart and an inspiring person.