Herman Spencer Caldwell Jr. completed his life of public service on January 29, 2025, following a brief period of declining health.
Born May 6, 1945 in Durham, N.C., to Herman S. Caldwell Sr. and Doris Bandy Caldwell, he attended Rock Springs High School in Denver, N.C., and graduated from Mooresville Senior High in 1963, Davidson College in 1967 and the University of Georgia Law School in 1970. He was licensed to practice law in South Carolina and the District of Columbia.
Active Army assignments included a tour in Vietnam (1972-1973), where he was the S-5 Civic Action Officer at the Dong Ba Thin Training Battalion, a unit that trained Cambodians. He was a company commander in the Second Infantry Division in Korea (1977-78). Stateside posts included Fort Benjamin Harrison, Fort Jackson and Fort Monmouth. His Army Reserve assignments included work for the Army Material Command Headquarters and later for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development and Acquisition in the Pentagon. He retired from the Army Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel. After five years of work as a civilian employee of the Department of Defense, he became a Procurement Officer in 1989 for the U.S. General Services Administration, which provides services and supplies to the other parts of government. When he retired in 2016, he had performed 43 years of combined federal service.
A life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans and the National Rifle Association, he enjoyed photography, woodworking, blacksmithing and his beloved greenhouse. His amateur radio operator’s license was N3RAQ.
Survivors include his wife of 44 years, Mary Ellen Searson Caldwell; daughters Carol C. Weddington of Salisbury, and Catherine C. Caldwell of Sacramento, Calf.; grandson Hunter C Weddington; brother Bill Caldwell (Vicki) of Statesville; sister-in-law Terry Searson of Montvale, N.J.; nieces Kristine Scibetta of Garwood, N.J., Kelly Chladil (Michael) of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., and Colleen Schumacher (Jarret) of Montvale, N.J.; and nephew Jeffery Naviello of Edison, N.J. Also surviving is his first wife, Erlene Caldwell of Salisbury, N.C. A special thanks to Andrae Hemmings who helped on innumerable projects both in Statesville and in Adelphi, Md.
He was predeceased by his parents as well as his son, Herman Spencer Caldwell III of Adelphi, Md., and son-in-law, Jonathan Weddington of Salisbury, N.C.
No Memorial Service will be conducted at this time. At a later date, his ashes will join his son’s ashes in the Columbarium West of the Salisbury National Cemetery Annex. The family will receive friends following that service.
Memorials may be made to Welcome Home Veterans,165 Main Street, Mooresville, NC 28115; Fifth Street Ministries, PO Box 5207, Statesville, NC 28687; or Gordon Hospice House, 2341 Simonton Road, Statesville, NC 28625.
Fond memories and condolences may be left on the Cavin-Cook Funeral Home & Crematory Mooresville, N.C., website at www.cavin-cook.com.
Cavin-Cook Funeral Home is serving the family.