Theresa Cook Caldwell, known by many as “Terri,” was defined by compassion and kindness, gifts enjoyed by anyone lucky enough to have known her. She also had a sharp sense of humor, and probably is in heaven rolling her eyes at the irony of beating cancer – twice – only to pass away after a car accident. She was 73.
Terri exuded love. It was infused in her cooking, her gardening, her canning, her traveling, her art, her sports, her many cherished pets. Most of all, she loved her children: sons Eddy and David, daughter Pam, and five grandchildren. She also enjoyed a circle of lifelong friends and close relatives.
After graduating from Oklahoma State University with a degree in early childhood development, Terri ran a Head Start center and opened a daycare. She later retired from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, ending a career built around her love for children. Outside of work, her passions were many and varied: Asian art, environmental protection, antiques, global cuisine, fashion. She had a great eye for real estate deals, especially fixer-upper projects she worked on with her son.
Terri also was the family historian, regaling young relatives with tales about their ancestors, true stories from family documents she found as an amateur genealogist. She liked to narrate the dramas and love stories behind the dozens of old family photographs she’d arranged in albums. Some of the pictures from the 1960s show Terri as a young woman, with blazing red hair and a big smile, about to embark on a life that would bring joy to so many people. She is deeply missed.
Terri was preceded in death by her parents, Vivian Inez Mabry and Paul Timothy Cook; and her husband, Thomas Ralph Caldwell.
She is survived by her children and their spouses: Eddy and Sara Caldwell of Fort Worth, Texas; David and Autum Caldwell of Tulsa; and Pam and Del Thompson of Springfield, Missouri. Terri adored her grandchildren: Sariah, Natalia, Jax, Sagan, and the Rev. Patricia Thompson Winters.
