Jada Jeanne Calhoun

Calhoun, Jada Jeanne

Age 44, of Southside Slopes, Pittsburgh, passed away in her sleep from natural causes on June 11, 2020. Wife of Chuck Turkaly, mother of Charles, Jacksonville FL, and Neil, of Beaver Co, grandmother of Leo Xavier, loving daughter of Adrienne Gildersleeve Siciliano and stepdad Joseph D. Siciliano, loved biological daughter of Charles S. Calhoun, CA, half-sister of brothers Nolan, Logan and Harley, dear niece of aunts and uncles throughout the country. Survived by friends and family throughout the Greater Pgh. area, the USA, Australia, and South Korea. Jada attended the Spanish Language Magnet School Program at Liberty Elementary Sch., Frick Middle Sch., and Schenley H.S. She finished high school at the Oakland School. As a child she attended the American Lung Association’s Camp Huff-n-Puff, sponsored by Breathe PA, first as a camper, and later as a counselor.  When Jada attended Liberty, she was chosen to exchange her art work with Pittsburgh’s Sister City, Wuhan, China. She won a Gene Kelly Award, with her classmates at Schenley H.S., for choreography and later did community theater, including productions by friends supporting the aims of Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force and PRIDE. After being awarded a full scholarship as an African American woman student she decided to attended Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. After 2 years she returned home due to health concerns. She worked as a full time nanny, and later she lived in Phoenix, Arizona. Eventually, she became a Certified Optical Medical Assistant in Pittsburgh.  Jada was a caregiver of children, the elderly, and neighbors, of course! Jada was a voracious reader who loved to feel the pages as she turned them. She inspired others to expand their reading selections and shared her enthusiasm for the written word freely. She loved the exchange of ideas with the broad circle of people she loved.

To celebrate Jada’s life, the family asks that you:

Plant a garden,

Eat some peaches, make some pickles,

Honor your family, enjoy all animals, and

Take care of little growing things.

And read a book.

A memorial service was held at St. Thomas Memorial Episcopal Church in Oakmont, PA on June 28, 2020. Arrangements entrusted to English Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc., 378 Maryland Ave., Oakmont, PA 15139.

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