Doris Caldwell

Resilient, tenacious, fiercely independent, and beautiful, Doris Caldwell lived well to the day she passed. Bringing joy, hope, and inspiration to all she encountered, she lived with a wonderment & curiosity about the world in which we live, to her last day.

Doris Onsager was born and grew up in downtown Milwaukee, attending schools in Milwaukee, Illinois, and at the Sinsinawa Mound. She spent some of her young adulthood in Miami before returning to Wisconsin to marry Jim Caldwell and raise six kids in New Berlin and Waukesha. She retired to Shorewood and spent her last several years in Madison. She loved Madison, especially our trees, living not far from the shores of Lake Mendota.

Doris was an avaricious reader of news, journals, book reviews, fiction, and nonfiction especially loving biographies, and the study of genetics and neurobiology. She loved our public libraries and made tremendously good use of them. She loved travel, opera, art, anthropology, and natural history. With Jim she raised a family of readers and thinkers. Doris lived with admirable strength and courage surviving adversity with unparalleled loyalty to her family, displaying incredible kindness and compassion to everyone. She was an engaged citizen and proud socialist. She was a committed walker, walking as far and as frequently as she could, every day that she could. She was a talented seamstress, knitter, baker, upholsterer, home maker. Most of all, she was mom, grandma, and friend, and she will be dearly missed by those she loved so well.

Doris is survived by her children Margaret, Francis, John, and Bill (Karin Strickon) Caldwell, Rosy (Abderrahman) El Aissati; grandchildren Katy (Alex), Molly, Eli, Camille, Lillianna, Emily, Madeline, Eamonn, and Mara. She was predeceased by her husband and her son Tom. A celebration of her life will be held on October 14th, please contact family for details.

Special thanks to the many many talented care providers of SSM, MyChoice, and Agrace.