Alonza Lee Caldwell

Loving husband, father, and grandfather died peacefully at 95 from cardiovascular disease on September 15, 2023 at the Paul Spring Retirement Community in Alexandria, Virginia. He had recently moved there from Springfield, Virginia where he had resided for over 50 years. He is survived by daughter, Mary Caldwell Schoen and her husband, Ira; son, Stephen Roy Caldwell and his wife, Susan; three grandchildren, Ian Schoen (Trish Markey), Delia Caldwell, and Charles Caldwell; a great grandchild (Nico); and many other relatives. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Helen Sellers Caldwell; his parents, Lyman Bruce Caldwell, Sr. and Mary Ella Caldwell; as well as older siblings, Gwendolyn C. Patten and Lyman B. Caldwell, Jr. and his nephews, James K. Blythe, Jr. and William Blythe. The family is saddened to lose three family members this year -- William Blythe, Lon Caldwell, and younger brother Ennis Alexander Caldwell who passed away on October 12, 2023.

Lon was born in Dadeville, Alabama on May 10, 1928, attending school there and then moving to Opelika, Alabama with his family where he finished high school. In January 1946, he enlisted in the Navy, and served on a submarine as a fireman. He received the GI Bill allowing him to attend Auburn University (then called Alabama Polytechnic Institute), graduating with a business degree in 1951. He was also commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force, beginning his active-duty military career in 1951. He later attended the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson in Ohio, receiving a MBA.

He married Helen on June 13, 1953; they were married for 59 years until she passed away in 2012.

During his 28-year Air Force career, Lon served as a security officer, a contract auditor, on the faculty of the Air Command and Staff College, a planning and program officer at the Pentagon, and Commander of the Defense Contract Administration Services district in Northern New Jersey. His final assignment was the Deputy Director of Procurement at the Defense Logistics Agency at Cameron Station in Alexandria, Virginia.

He retired as a Colonel from the Air Force in 1979 and then worked in the private sector for a little over 11 years, retiring in 1991. He traveled with Helen and was active in both the Georgia and Alabama State Societies for decades. He was a member of the Fort Campbell, Kentucky Masonic Lodge joining in the 1950s, and long-time member of the Kena Shriners in Northern Virginia, especially devoted to their many philanthropic efforts. He was also active in his neighborhood community and attended church for many decades at the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling Chapel in Washington, DC where he also served as a volunteer for the Vacation Bible School program.

Lon's funeral service will be held on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 with a Visitation from 10 AM to Noon, the Service from Noon to 1 PM; and a Reception from 1 to 3 PM. He will be afforded full military honors with a graveside service at Arlington National Cemetery on January 10, 2024 at 3 PM. Participants at the Arlington Ceremony should make it to the Arlington National Cemetery Administrative Building parking lot an hour before the graveside service time. When arriving at the Administrative Building parking lot, a representative will advise each vehicle where they are designated to park. At the appointed time, participants will be directed to create a procession towards the graveside. Contributions may be made in his memory to the American Heart Association at https://www.heart.org.