Larry James Caldwell

Larry James Caldwell of Portland, Oregon, passed away on Monday, June 15, 2015, at Avamere Bethany from complications of Alzheimer’s. He was 78 years old. Larry was born Omaha, Nebraska to Charles Gilmore Caldwell and Mildred Bondetta Caldwell (Harris). They moved to Portland where Larry and his sisters Carol and Donna grew up. Growing up Larry was a Boy Scout. During his high school years he worked as a box boy for Fred Meyer grocery stores. He graduated from Roosevelt High School then attended the University of Portland, the University of Hawaii, and Portland State University. He served in the US Army and was stationed in Honolulu. While in Hawaii, he set up a small import/export business. Upon returning from Hawaii, he married Joan Louise Clark on September 12, 1959, and they were married for 56 years. He then began is lifetime career in the food industry. Larry worked as a manager for Albertson’s in the Portland area. He then worked for Portland Wholesale Grocery and Fernando’s Foods to name a few of these experiences. Larry always had a job whether it was mowing lawns, chopping wood, bagging groceries, or working food shows. He was an entrepreneur at heart. He went through the Dale Carnegie course and obtained his real estate license; bought into a food truck business and along with the daily setup, selling, and clean up, he also took several weekends to motorcycle races letting his kids have a chance to master making change. Another one of his projects was Lost River Products where he sold specialized tape products to large industrial/technical companies. After retirement from the food industry, Larry and Joan opened NW Jewelry and Loan Pawn Shop in Beaverton and enjoyed operating that business. Larry always had a happy demeanor and was always ready to lend a hand. He enjoyed bowling and boating (in his earlier years) and fishing, golf, and bike riding later on. He and Joan also enjoyed traveling to the coast, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico and their retirement trip to Europe. He was preceded in death by his father, mother, and son Scott Caldwell. He is survived by his wife Joan, daughters, Kathie Vosper (Gary) of Albany, and Tami Feller of Portland, daughter-in-law Kim Caldwell of Hillsboro; grandchildren Jayson and Heather Edblom of Albany, Katie and David Feller of Portland, Stephanie and Samantha Caldwell of Hillsboro, great granddaughter Kyra of Hillsboro; sisters Carol McCollum of Portland, and Donna Harden of Mt. Home, Arkansas, several nieces, nephews, and a plethora of friends. Larry will be greatly missed. Funeral services shall be held at Finley Sunset Hills Mortuary at 6801 SW Sunset Hwy, at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, June 20, 2015. Burial will be at Skyline Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.