Harold Caldwell, age 91, of Fancy Prairie, Illinois died at 1:00 pm on Sunday, March 19, 2017 at Heritage Health Nursing Home in Springfield, Illinois. He was born June 18, 1925 in Poplar Grove, Illinois, to Fred and Louise Ferricks Caldwell. They precede him in death as well as a brother, Louis Caldwell.
Harold was a farmer most of his life after returning home from WWII. He served his country in the Army under General George Patton at the Battle of the Bulge. He was a Sgt. in the 281st Combat Engineers in Central Europe. Later in life he drove a school bus for the Athens Illinois School District.
He always had stories to tell, making one wonder if they were true.
He will be greatly missed by his kids and grandkids.
He married Evelyn Tobias on December 28th 1947. She preceded him in death on May 23rd, 2007 and he was also preceded in death by a great grandson Finnegan Abbott in May of 2010.
He is survived by daughters; Nancy (Jerry) Abbott, Ronda (Rich) Lahnum of Sherman, Illinois, and Sandra Dunlap of Phoenix, Arizona. He’s also survived by grandchildren; Scott and Amy Abbott of Zionville, Indiana; Jerad and Collen Abbott of Joliet, Illinois; Chad and Stephanie Lahnum of Springfield, Illinois; Sara and Rob Revere, of Phoenix, Arizona; Ryan Lahnum of Wheaton, Illinois; and Kyla Dunlap of Phoenix, Arizona. He’s survived by great-grandchildren; Aidan, Brendan, Carson, Anderson, Jacob, Grace, Lila, Vivian and Elizabeth Abbott; and Avery, Chase and Ellie Lahnum, Jadeyn and Gage Revere.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, March 25, 2017 at Mott & Henning Funeral Home from 12:00 PM until time of funeral service at 1:30 PM.
Burial will be held at Joel Hall Cemetery in Athens with military honors.
Rev. Craig Sweet will be officiating.
As per Harold’s request, please no flowers for the services. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Athens Food Pantry.
Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked (required)
Visits: 11
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Posted March 22nd, 2017 at 1:51 pm
It is with sincere and deep sympathy that I extend to Harold Caldwell’s family my condolences on his passing. He was more than a Dad to his family; he was also a friend and that is someone that lives forever in the hearts and thoughts of his daughters and their families. Ronda, I especially wanted to express to you my heartfelt sympathy and to convey my support to you during this sad time; my thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.
Sonya Voyles
Posted March 22nd, 2017 at 2:00 pm
It is with sincere and deep sympathy that I extend my condolences to Harold Caldwell’s family. He was more than a Dad to his family; he was also a friend and that is someone that lives forever in the hearts and thoughts of his daughters. Ronda, I especially wanted to express to you my heartfelt sympathy and to convey my support to you during this sad time; my thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.
Posted March 22nd, 2017 at 2:12 pm
Dear Caldwell Family Members,
My thoughts and prayers are with you. I will not be able to attend the services because of previous commitments. Please accept my condolences.
Bobbie Stevenson Boehner
Posted March 27th, 2017 at 11:10 am
What a lovely service memorial given for Harold. We are so glad to have gotten to know him better at the United Methodist Men breakfast. He definitely deserved the 21 gun salute. How marvelous that the young men of the family honored him with the heart-felt eulogies. We will miss him at Sherman UMC. Love the Robinsons