Robert W. Caldwell Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

CALDWELL, Robert W. Jr., 88, of Gulfport and Boca Grande, was born on August 20, 1920 in Meadville, PA to Gail Jarrell Caldwell and Robert W. Caldwell, Sr. He died in Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg this past Saturday, July 4, 2009. His maternal grandparents, George and Abigail Jarrell, first brought him to Gulfport in the 1920s. Because of the two week quarantine of new Florida students to avoid bringing in infectious diseases, he fished with his grandparents daily in lieu of school. After the quarantine, he first attended Roser Park and then the brand new Gulfport Elementary School. He fished at the Gulfport Pier nearly everyday. Back then, Gulfport was open to the Gulf; there was no Bayway, and the waters were turquoise and teeming with fish. When his grandparents opened the Gulfport Market, he helped them out along with his mom and his Aunts Isabel, Anne and Helen. He attended Disston Junior High and St. Petersburg High School. He continued to fish at every chance and took advantage of every opportunity to assist local boat captains. He was an excellent boatsman and fisherman. Known as Bo in the 1920s and '30s, Bob was always an excellent student, too. He graduated St. Pete High in 1938, and, after attending St. Petersburg Junior College for a year, enrolled in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at MIT, Bob captained the lightweight crew. He had excellent skills with tools that he had learned from his grandfather Jarrell and returned to Gulfport summers during college and built homes for his father and Ed Markham. He graduated MIT during World War II in January, 1943 with a degree in aeronautical engineering. From many job offers, he chose Convair in San Diego which later became part of General Dynamics. He built B-24s and other aircraft. He married Adele Allport in 1945. All three of their children were born in La Jolla, CA. Bob arrived back in Gulfport with his family on July 4, 1951. His plan was to work with his Dad and open the building division of R.W. Caldwell, Inc., a real estate and insurance business originally started by his father in 1937. In late 1952, Bob found himself running the entire company after his father's untimely death. He was a successful investor and land developer and was elected in 1954 President of the Contractors and Builders Association of Pinellas County. Bob was the first President of the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce and was President of the Friends of the Gulfport Library when the new library was built at 28th and Beach Boulevard. He was an over 50 year member of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. Some of the subdivisions he developed in his career included Pelican Creek and Catalina Gardens plus he built hundreds of individual homes throughout Pinellas County. He was an organizing director and built the First Bank of Gulfport, was chairman of the Pinellas County branches of Royal Trust Bank and was an organizing director of First Gulf Bank. He was President of Jordan-Caldwell, Inc. that developed San Clemente East in Pasco County. When bought by U.S. Home Corp., Bob became, among other projects, the original developer of Timber Oaks in Pasco County and then became vice president of U.S. Home Corp. in charge of construction for the Central Florida Division. Bob