“I suggested he go to barber school,” his mother, Sandy Calmes, recalled last week.
As he was graduating, Gene Lamb, proprietor of the Red Lion Barber Shop, called with a job offer.
“He loved his barbering,” his mother said. “He loved his customers. They loved him.”
MORE: UDF plan in Red Lion follows $8M road project
Calmes had health problems. He died Friday, May 29, of natural causes, according to the Warren County Coroner’s Office.
Calmes tested negative for COVID-19.
“He was with me from day one,” Lamb said, thinking back to the shop opening on Nov. 13, 2010.
“He had a following,” Lamb said. “They always came back.”
Calmes, who was divorced, lived off Springboro Road with two sons. Gabriel, 16, and Nicholas, 15, were “his whole world,” according to Lamb.
“I always think Steve saved my life,” customer Jerry Pack said.
About 10 years ago, Calmes noticed a mole on Peck’s neck while cutting his hair.
MORE: Springboro barber celebrates 50 years in business
“I had it checked. It was cancerous,” Peck said.
About a year ago, Pack said he realized his barber and friend was having a rough time and suggested they pray together.
“Me and him prayed right there in the barber shop,” Pack said, recalling Calmes accepted Jesus Christ as his savior.
Pack also noted the effect of Calmes’ death on Lamb.
“His best friend was gone,” he said.
Calmes was "a proud lifetime member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was very patriotic and a proud American. Steve will be remembered as a very honest person, and will be missed by all who knew him," according to his obituary.
Customer Mike Elam went to the shop a few hours after Calmes’ death.
A sign advised customers of his passing.
“I had to read it three times,” Elam, a Turtlecreek Twp. resident, said. “Total shock.”
Elam said he looked forward to weekly trips to the barber shop, where Calmes would shave his head with a straight razor.
Sometimes Calmes would set Elam’s granddaughter up with a snack and put cartoons on the TV, while they compared notes on life.
“For me, it was more than haircut,” Elam said.
About the Author
