of Mountain Home, AR

December 8, 1935 - January 3, 2024

Calvin Clinton Czeschin, Sr. passed away Wednesday, January 3, 2024 in Mountain Home, AR at the age of 88. Calvin was born December 8, 1935 on a farm outside Warrensburg, MO, the son of Charles Christie Czeschin, Sr. and Gladys Howell Czeschin. He married Ruth ''Sissy'' Baker on February 2, 1962 in Mountain Home, Arkansas. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Mountain Home.

As a young boy, Czeschin witnessed the United States at war during WWII and attended the National Boy Scout Jamboree in 1950 and the International Boy Scout Jamboree in 1951 in Europe after earning his Eagle Scout badge.

In 1953, his family moved to Blytheville, Arkansas where he would finish high school before graduating from the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1957 with a degree in Geology. He was also a lifetime member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. Mr. Czeschin began managing his family's telephone companies, Yelcot Telephone Company and Mountain Home Telephone in 1958 at the age of 23 years old.

In 1975, Mountain Home Telephone merged with Century Telephone Enterprises in Monroe, Louisiana. Mr. Czeschin was elected to the company's board of directors in 1974. He was on the board when the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1978 and rang open the New York Stock Exchange in 2006. He served in various capacities for 34 years before retiring from the board in 2009.

After the merger with Century, the Czeschin family purchased Home Cable Company in 1975, expanding the company's cable footprint and bringing channels like WGN to the area. TCA Cable purchased Home Cable Company in 1982. In 2007, Mountain View Telephone Company was purchased, allowing the company to begin the 153-mile fiber backbone project from the White County line south of Batesville to Bruno. To further support the telecommunication needs of our area, Mr. Czeschin served as a member and past president of the Arkansas Telephone Association.

Czeschin diversified his family's business by forming what would become the Ultimate Auto Group in 1988 after purchasing a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealership; later acquiring both the GMC and Ford dealerships and Freedom Ford in Melbourne.

As an incorporating investor and partner, Mr. Czeschin played an integral role in the organization of Big Creek Golf and Country Club.

As a leader in the local community, Calvin was the youngest of the eight incorporating members of First National Bank and Trust in Mountain Home, which is now part of Farmers and Merchants Bank. He also joined the board of Baxter Regional Medical Center and served as Chairman of the Board for 15 years.

Mr. Czeschin also served as president of the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce, Mountain Home Band Boosters, Mountain Home Jaycees and the Mountain Home Parent Teacher Association. In addition, he was elected to several terms on the Mountain Home School Board.

He has been awarded the Citizen of the Year award by the Mountain Home Lions Club, was inducted into the Mountain Home Education Foundation Hall of Honor and honored as a recipient of the Vada Sheid Lifetime Achievement Award by the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce.

He is survived by his wife of almost 62 years, Sissy, of Mountain Home, AR; daughters, Betsie Czeschin of Cotter, AR, Sara Zimmerman of Mountain Home, AR and Karen (Matt) Reed of Eureka, MO; son, Clint Czeschin of Mountain Home, AR; six grandchildren, Dr. Sloane Zimmerman of Houston, TX, Richard Lang Zimmerman, Jr. (Jenna) of Fayetteville, AR, Haley and Trey Czeschin of Mountain Home, AR and Anna Ruth and Paige Reed of Eureka, MO and one great grandson, Zane Zimmerman of Fayetteville, AR. He is also survived by sister in-laws, Janet Czeschin, Alice Baker and Shirley Baker and nieces and nephews, Cindy, Chris, Frank, Leah Ann, Beth, Jenny, Amy and Jeri Ann.

Calvin was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Charles Christie Czeschin, Jr.

Visitation will be held at the First United Methodist Church, Friday, January 5th from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm. Funeral Services will also be held at the church on Saturday, January 6th beginning at 2:00 pm with burial to follow at Mountain Home Cemetery with Chris Czeschin, Frank Czeschin, Eric Lunnen, Rob Williams, Shawn Lane and Vernon Dewey serving as pallbearers.

Ted and Nancy Sanders, Dr. Greg Elders, Dr. John Sullivant, Bill and Donna Maxwell, Mike Cannon and all current and former employees of Yelcot Telephone Company, Mountain View Telephone Company, Ultimate Dealerships and Freedom Ford will serve as honorary pallbearers.

Memorials may be made to Mountain Home Bomber Band Boosters, PO Box 928, Mountain Home, AR 72654; First United Methodist Church, 605 West 6th Street, Mountain Home, AR 72653; Mountain Home Cemetery Endowment c/o Twin Lakes Community Foundation, PO Box 473, Mountain Home, AR 72653 or Boy Scouts of America, Westark Area Council, 1401 Old Greenwood Road, Fort Smith, AR 72901.

Obituary Provided By:
Roller Funeral Home
Highway 5 North
Mountain Home, AR  72654
www.rollerfuneralhomes.com