Calvin (Cal) Robertson died Saturday, January 3, 2026 at the Norwichtown Rehabilitation and Care Center in Norwich, CT. He was born on December 6, 1945 in Norwich. He grew up with his mother and grandmother in Poquetanuck and on River Road in Mystic, CT. Cal later spent a good part of his adult life living with his mother and stepfather at Groton Long Point.

In 2014 Cal moved to the loving community of like minded peace and social justice advocates at the interfaith St. Francis House in New London, CT.

Cal attended the University of Connecticut briefly in 1963 before enlisting in the Navy for medical service duty as a Navy Corpsman in January of 1964. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam as a corpsman with the U.S. Marines. Cal was discharged from the Navy in 1970.

Greatly affected by his experience in Vietnam, Cal initially worked as an ambulance driver in San Francisco. After San Francisco, he spent a number of years traveling as a migrant laborer picking fruit and vegetables on the West Coast from Southern California to Washington state. He later worked on shrimp boats out of New Orleans and Texas ports. In 1975 Cal suffered a traumatic brain injury in Houston, Texas and returned to Groton Long Point to begin his recovery under his mother’s and stepfather’s care.

Cal dedicated the rest of his life “bearing witness” against the war machine and the weapons manufacturing industries, while also raising concern about their impact on the next generation of children. He was arrested countless times for civil disobedience and activism at local sites including the U.S. Submarine Base Groton and General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton and at various sites up and down the East Coast. Cal remained closely allied with others in the peace movement, some imprisoned for political beliefs. A collection of letters Cal wrote to his family while in Vietnam and later correspondence with other nationally known peace activists is available to the public at the Archives and Special Collections UConn Library, Dodd Center for Human Rights in Storrs, CT.

Cal was an active member of the interfaith peace community in Connecticut. He regularly bore witness at what came to be called Cal’s Corner in West Mystic, at the Sub Base Main Gate in Groton, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument and the front porch of St. Francis House in New London. When Cal looked one in the eye with those blue eyes and said, “keep your eyes on the prize” and "solidarity in the struggle", it was a call from deep in his being reminding all that the fight for peace and justice is never over.

Cal was predeceased by his mother Elizabeth (Lib) Colson and stepfather Gardner (Bud) Colson. Cal will be missed immeasurably by his cousins from the Delaney, Devine, Brewer and Colson Families.

A celebration of Cal’s life will be scheduled at the later date.