John Robert Caldwell

John Robert Caldwell age 98, born on Christmas Day, December 25, 1919 at the old home place on Tom’s Creek Road in Del Rio, Tennessee to William Patton and Polly Ellen Wilds Caldwell. John was the seventh child in a family of ten children that included Lettie Mae Hensley, Geneva Dockery, Ruth Dockery, Cecil Goodnough, Sue Martin, Hilliard Caldwell, John Caldwell, James Caldwell, Junior Caldwell, and Roy Caldwell. He is preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth Richards Caldwell and son, Robert Howard Caldwell. John is survived by his three children, Helen Anne Caldwell Gillespie, William Patton (Gina) Caldwell II, Bartley O’Neil (Amy) Caldwell, and by daughter-in-law, Angelica Caldwell; nine grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. John attended Oak Grove Elementary School at the head of Tom’s Creek Road. He enlisted in the United States Navy in January of 1940, and retired 30 years later in February of 1970 as a Senior Chief Petty Officer. After retiring from the Navy he worked for the State of Texas at the Corpus Christi State School for seventeen years as the Chief of Food Service Management. After retiring from this job, he and his wife Elizabeth and their two beagles, Rambo and Dolly spent their summer months in the foot hills of the Smokey Mountains at the Old Home Place on Tom’s Creek Road with children coming and going and relatives and friends visiting. Winters were spent back at their home in Corpus Christi, Texas. John and Libby were instrumental in the construction of a pavilion at the Deep Gap Church and Cemetery which benefitted the community church and general public. He not only served his country well, but he also served his native community well. John was a veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, and was involved in major actions in convoy runs through the North Atlantic to Russia, North Africa invasion at Casablanca, Guadalcanal in South Pacific, Aleutian Islands in North Pacific, a submarine war patrol off the Coast of Japan, and with occupation forces in Japan at end of World War II in 1945.

Visitation will be Thursday, January 25, 2018 beginning at 4:00 p.m. with Funeral Services at 6:00 p.m. at Cage Mills Funeral Directors Chapel. Additional visitation will be at Brown Funeral Home in Newport, Tennessee from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., Sunday, January 28, 2018. Burial will be at 10:00 a.m., Monday, January 29, 2018 in Clark Cemetery Deep Gap Baptist Church in Del Rio, Tennessee.