[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 102 (Thursday, July 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1709-E1710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GULFPORT, FLORIDA MOURNS THE PASSING OF ROBERT W. CALDWELL, JR.
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HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG
of florida
in the house of representatives
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Madam Speaker, it is with a deep sadness that I
share with my colleagues the passing of my good friend and constituent
Robert W. Caldwell, Jr. of Gulfport, Florida.
There was no more patriotic American than R. W. Caldwell, Jr. who
died this past Fourth of July at the age of 88. He moved to Gulfport as
a young boy during the 1920's and never left. During those more than 80
years, he fell in love with this small Florida city and throughout his
lifetime he always strived to make it a better place to live. He built
and sold homes in Gulfport, throughout Pinellas County and the state of
Florida.
Bob also understood the value of preserving the history of our area
and as such led community efforts to support the Gulfport Historical
Society and restore some of its landmark sites including Scout Hall.
It was most appropriate that this past April, the City of Gulfport
honored R. W. Caldwell, Jr. by naming a park in his honor. The City
will turn out Saturday at this park to pay their respects to the life
of this special man and to thank him for his lifelong contributions to
making Gulfport such a special place in which to live, to learn, to
work and to play.
Following my remarks, I will include for the benefit of my colleagues
an article and obituary from The St. Petersburg Times about Bob's life.
Madam Speaker, my special thoughts go out to Bob's wife of 63 years
Adele, his daughters April and Elise, his son Bill, and three
grandchildren. In addition to his wife and family, one of R. W.
Caldwell Jr.'s other loves of his life was fishing the beautiful waters
of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. It is my hope that his family always
remembers this giant of our community when they pass by one of our
waterways, see a fisherman casting out a line, and watch one of
Florida's trademark sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico. May R. W.
Caldwell, Jr. rest in peace.
[From the St. Petersburg Times, July 8, 2009]
Longtime Builder `Sketched Out Gulfport'
(By Andrew Meacham)
Gulfport--R.W. Caldwell didn't just develop Gulfport, he
lived there, putting down roots in its sandy soil. He lived
for the outdoors and fishing--priorities that never changed
even as his company became one of the Tampa Bay area's most
recognizable names in real estate.
He added construction to a company that specialized in real
estate and insurance. The expansion resulted in hundreds of
new homes in Pinellas, Pasco and Charlotte counties,
including some of the area's largest subdivisions and an
influx of high-end homes to Gulfport.
Mr. Caldwell died of a stroke Saturday. He was 88.
``He was a remarkable pioneer,'' said Gulfport Mayor
Michael Yakes. ``He really sketched out Gulfport in his own
right.''
While franchises of huge companies like Coldwell Banker and
Keller Williams dominate coast to coast, Mr. Caldwell's name
has endured locally.
``The whole real estate industry was started by fellows
like R.W. Caldwell,'' said Victor Adamo, chairman of the
Pinellas Realtor Organization.
After getting a degree at M.I.T. and working as an
aeronautical engineer in
[[Page E1710]]
California, Mr. Caldwell moved back home to rejoin his
father's business in 1951.
He had foresight, buying properties dense in trees, then
endeavoring to save as many as possible in subdivisions. He
predicted the coming of multifamily homes as cities built to
their boundaries.
``What has happened in Gulfport will, in many cases, happen
elsewhere in Pinellas,'' he wrote in a guest column for the
Times in 1960.
He trusted his know-how, maintaining his 1994 Chevrolet
station wagon himself. The car still runs with 200,000 miles
on it. He built a single-engine boat he later took to the
Bahamas for a fishing trip.
Mr. Caldwell also trusted his instincts with people,
quietly helping those he believed were doing all they could
for themselves. At least twice, he shipped $12,000 worth of
beans to Haiti.
When his housekeeper couldn't qualify for a mortgage, Mr.
Caldwell took one out himself, then collected monthly
payments. When the housekeeper's family finished the payments
years later, he handed over the deed.
He enjoyed a daily martini with his wife, Adele, and eating
smoked mullet with childhood friends, including the mayor and
other city officials.
After selling Jordan-Caldwell, the construction arm, to
U.S. Homes in 1972, Mr. Caldwell stayed with U.S. Homes until
the late 1970s. He remained with the family company as an
adviser.
``There are a lot of developers who have taken their piece
of the pie and not made a better place to live,'' said Tina
Douglass, wife of former St. Pete Beach Mayor Bob Douglass.
``Wherever R. W. was, he always made it a better place. He
left a good mark.''
Obituary
CALDWELL, Robert W. Jr. 88, of Gulfport and Boca Grande,
was born on Aug. 20, 1920 in Meadville, PA to Gail Jarrell
Caldwell and Robert W. Caldwell Sr. He died in Bayfront
Medical Center in St. Petersburg this past Saturday, July 4,
2009. His maternal grandparents, George and Abigail Jarrell
first brought him to Gulfport In the 1920s. Because of the
two week quarantine of new Florida students to avoid bringing
in infectious diseases, he fished with his grandparents
daily, in lieu of school. After the quarantine, he first
attended Roser Park and then the brand new Gulfport
Elementary School. He fished at the Gulfport Pier nearly
everyday. Back then, Gulfport was open to the Gulf; there was
no Bayway, and the waters were turquoise and teeming with
fish. When his grandparents opened the Gulfport Market, he
helped them out along with his mom and his Aunts Isabel, Anne
and Helen. He attended Disston Junior High and St. Petersburg
High School. He continued to fish at every chance and took
advantage of every opportunity to assist local boat captains.
He was an excellent boatsman and fisherman. Known as Bo in
the 1920s and `30s, Bob was always an excellent student, too.
He graduated St. Pete High in 1938, and, after attending St.
Petersburg Junior College for a year, enrolled in the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at MIT, Bob
captained the lightweight crew. He had excellent skills with
tools that he had learned from his grandfather Jarrell and
returned to Gulfport summers during college and built homes
for his father and Ed Markham. He graduated MIT during World
War II in January, 1943 with a degree in aeronautical
engineering. From many job offers, he chose Convair in San
Diego, which later became part of General Dynamics. He built
B-24s and other aircraft. He married Adele Allport in 1945.
All three of their children were born in La Jolla, CA. Bob
arrived back in Gulfport with his family on July 4, 1951. His
plan was to work with his Dad and open the building division
of R.W. Caldwell, Inc., a real estate and insurance business
originally started by his father in 1937. In late 1952, Bob
found himself running the entire company after his father's
untimely death. He was a successful investor and land
developer and was elected in 1954 President of the
Contractors and Builders Association of Pinellas County. Bob
was the first President of the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce
and was President of the Friends of the Gulfport Library when
the new library was built at 28th and Beach Boulevard. He was
an over 50 year member of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. Some
of the subdivisions he developed in his career included
Pelican Creek and Catalina Gardens plus he built hundreds of
individual homes throughout Pinellas County. He was an
organizing director and built the First Bank of Gulfport, was
chairman of the Pinellas County branches of Royal Trust Bank
and was an organizing director of First Gulf Bank. He was
President of Jordan-Caldwell, Inc. that developed San
Clemente East in Pasco County. When bought by U.S. Home
Corp., Bob became, among other projects, the original
developer of Timber Oaks in Pasco County and then became vice
president of U.S. Home Corp. in charge of construction for
the Central Florida Division. Bob's largest Gulfport business
venture was when he became the Managing Partner of the
Pasadena Partnership that bought the land known as Skimmer
Point and later Pelican Bay and arranged the annexation of
this part of Pasadena Yacht and Country Club into Gulfport.
Further, he was currently President of Palm Island investment
Corp. in Charlotte County and Chairman of R.W. Caldwell, Inc.
in Gulfport. Bob lived a very modest life style. He
maintained both his boat and auto engines himself. He even
built his own 26 foot single engine boat from scratch in his
front driveway in the late 1950s and took it on a five week
adventure to the Bahamas with his wife and his wife's sister
and brother-in-law. He enjoyed along with his wife in taking
their children on car trips in the family station wagon to
visit many of America's national parks, frequently camping
out along the way, and, a generation later, repeating those
car trips with their grandchildren. Growing up in the fifties
and sixties, Caldwell family weekends were for water
recreation and fishing trips. Those were idyllic happy times.
Bob was active and smart with a good sense of humor to his
last days and enjoyed driving all about town in his 1994
Chevy station wagon. He loved fishing till his end and really
enjoyed a fishing trip he took this past Father's Day weekend
with his son when they went over 55 nautical miles out into
the Gulf of Mexico, and Bob showed that he was still an
expert at catching 'em. Bob quietly and without fanfare
helped many area people in need, but he had a special feeling
for people suffering in Haiti. He personally donated, in the
last few years at least four entire containers full of more
than than 150,000 pounds of beans through For HAITI, With
Love to help feed the hungry Haitian people. Bob is survived
by his loving and devoted wife of over 63 years, Adele A.
Caldwell; three children; a daughter, April Caldwell
Hornsleth (Poul); a daughter, Elise `Desi' Caldwell McCarthy
(Vaughn); a son, R.W. `Bill' Caldwell, III (Katie), and three
grandchildren, Poul Homsleth, Ill. Jody Hornsleth Sepulveda
(Rob) and Kyle McCarthy. There will be a memorial gathering
this Saturday, July 11th at 10 am in R.W. Caldwell Park at
64th Street and Gulfport Boulevard. Parking will be
available, and a reception will follow. R.W. Caldwell Park
was dedicated just this past April 18th, less than three
months ago. The entire Caldwell family is very grateful and
appreciative to the City and citizenry of Gulfport that their
patriarch, R.W. `Bob' Caldwell Jr., who first came to
Gulfport more than 80 years ago, was able to receive and
appreciate this wonderful honor before he died. In lieu of
flowers, the family asks that donations be made to either For
HAITI, With Love. the Gulfport Historical Society or the
Friends of the Gulfport Library. Arrangements by R. Lee
Williams & Son Funeral Home 5730 15th Avenue South Gulfport
33707 727-345-7797 www.rlwilliams.com
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