[1] Born in Moreland, Idaho, Callister graduated from Blackfoot High School in 1939 and served in the United States Army during World War II, from 1944 to 1946.

He received a Bachelor of Science in Law from the University of Utah in 1950 and a Juris Doctor from its S.J.

He was in private practice in Boise from 1958 to 1969, was a state district judge from 1970 to 1975, and became the U.S. Attorney for Idaho in 1975.

[2] On July 19, 1976, Callister was nominated by President Gerald Ford to a seat on the U.S. District Court vacated by Judge J. Blaine Anderson.

Callister served as Chief Judge from 1981 to 1988, and assumed senior status at age 68 on June 6, 1989.