Mr. Johnnie Lee Caldwell

***ALLEN CHAPEL A.M.E. CHURCH IS HOSTING A SERVICE IN LOVING MEMORY FOR THE FAMILY OF MR. JOHNNIE LEE CALDWELL ON FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2022. PLEASE SEE VISITATIONS, SERVICE TIMES & LOCATION BELOW***** *****PLEASE NOTE: WHEN ENTERING THE CHURCH: MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING ARE STILL REQUIRED. THE CHURCH WILL PROVIDE HAND SANITIZER WHEN ENTERING THE BUILDING. _________________________________________________ *****IN LIEU OF FLOWERS: THE FAMILY REQUESTS SENDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO EITHER: KAIROS DWELLING, 2945 Gull Road, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49048 -OR- THE KALAMAZOO GOSPEL MISSION, 448 N. Burdick Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007 ____________________________________________________ ****ATTENTION TO THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO VIEW SERVICES ONLINE FROM HOME, ZOOM INFORMATION IS AS FOLLOWS: Rev. Millard F. Southern, III is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Allen Chapel AMEC-Funeral Service for Johnnie "John" Caldwell Time: July 29, 2022, 11:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84375636907?pwd=QXNtYy91Z3VSdnBDUGdMMWlJMy9rdz09 Meeting ID: 843 7563 6907 Passcode: 811448 One tap mobile +16465588656,,84375636907#,,,,*811448# US (New York) +13017158592,,84375636907#,,,,*811448# US (Washington DC) Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 843 7563 6907 Passcode: 811448 Find your local number: Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing _______________________________________________ THE OBITUARY Johnnie Lee Caldwell is being celebrated as a beloved father, grandfather, great grandfather, educator and mentor. The longtime Kalamazoo resident and past director of the Douglass Community Association, died Tuesday, July 19, 2022 after a long bout with cancer. Family members were at his side. He was 94. To the community he may be remembered as the stern but caring man who directed hundreds of area young people at four Kalamazoo area schools, ultimately as principal of Kalamazoo Central High School. To his family and friends, he was known as a dependable, resourceful and determined soul who was always available to help and provide great advice. The eldest of nine children, Caldwell was born on Sept. 16, 1927 in Kansas City, Kan., the son of A.D. Caldwell Sr., a steelworker, and Pearline (McGhee) Caldwell, who worked as a domestic. The family lived in a small but well-maintained house where roll-away beds were needed in the front room to accommodate siblings and members of the extended family. Caldwell learned to be responsible for his younger siblings, watching them from an early age while his parents were at work. Nonetheless he did well in school and excelled in sports, table tennis and at almost any game he tried. He played basketball and ran track at Sumner High School in Kansas City before graduating and joining the U.S. Army. After a two-year enlistment, he used the G.I. Bill to attend Kansas State University and parlayed his athletic skills there as a quarter-mile runner on its track team and as a shooting guard on its basketball team. He was coached there for a while by Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame basketball coach Tex Winter. With a desire to become a teacher, he earned a bachelor’s degree in education and recreation, and a master’s degree in physical education. But he found little opportunity to work as an educator in Kansas at a time when many school districts would not hire an African-American to teach. He used his knowledge and skills to become associate director of the Douglass Community Association in Manhattan, Kan. He was an all-around leader for that social service and recreational agency, doubling as a lifeguard, swimming instructor, playground supervisor, and coach for its baseball, softball and basketball clinics. In order to try to expand his horizons, he wrote letters to more than four dozen similar organizations around the country. That resulted in an opportunity for him to relocate in 1956 to work as associate director of the Douglass Community Association in Kalamazoo. After a mix-up in the time for his job interview, he missed that appointment but a member of the association board stated that he was hired based on the strength of the letter he wrote asking for the job. Earlier that same year he had married his wife Irma. In Kalamazoo, she worked as a nurse and John earned a master’s degree in counseling from Western Michigan University. In 1958, the two became parents. Their son, Christopher Caldwell, matured to follow in his father’s footsteps, becoming a teacher and athletic coach in the Kalamazoo Public Schools. John Caldwell, who operated a pest control business (Asa Pest Control) while leading the Douglas Community Association, rose to become executive director of that organization. But he left the position in 1963 when he was able to become an educator in 1963 at Milwood Junior High School. He started there as a boys’ guidance teacher and counselor, working with youngsters who had serious behavior and academic problems. From there, he was promoted to assistant principal at Kalamazoo Central High School at its original location on South Westnedge Avenue. That was in 1968, four days after the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During that time, Caldwell helped guide its students through several years of racial unrest, and he was among local Black leaders recognized for doing so. He became principal at Oakwood Junior High School (which is now Woods Lake Elementary) in 1973 as school desegregation caused unrest in the Kalamazoo community. He described conditions as “riotous” that year but he spent the summer visiting the homes of hostile parents to help effect change. Caldwell was known to be a rules-governed man who insisted that students also follow rules. But he was a caring man who was also known to ride school buses to check for problems and visit students’ homes when their behavior or work began to falter. “Firm but fair” was among his sayings as he watched young men and women grow to respect the structure he provided and graduate into better lives. In 1980, he was named principal of Hillside Junior High School and quickly made needed but not always welcomed changes for its staff. His methods as a fair-but-firm leader were successful however and in 1985 he was named principal of Kalamazoo Central High School, which had relocated to North Drake Road on Kalamazoo’s West Side. “From now on, I’m in it 24 hours a day,” he told members of the Kalamazoo Board of Education as he was unanimously appointed to lead the high school. According to a report in the Kalamazoo Gazette, he was known to tell students they ought to be in awe of their teachers “because they can help you make something of your life.” Speaking of what is necessary for a competent teacher to succeed, he also once said, “A good teacher could teach well with just students standing over there in that corner with a blackboard. Everything else is just trappings.” Caldwell was a life-long learner and an advocate for civil rights. He pushed to see more women hired as coaches of girls sports teams. In 1965 he helped establish a fund to promote justice for Blacks in Selma, Ala. And he was actively involved for years with the Metropolitan Kalamazoo Branch of the NAACP. John enjoyed spending time with family and enjoyed a friendship with Curtis Isaac, who was a fifth grade student when they met, but has been coach of the Kalamazoo Eastside Boxing Academy for more than 30 years. Caldwell also loved to play golf and was the winner of more than one teachers’ league tournament while working for the Kalamazoo Public Schools. During the summer of 1985, he was golf instructor for adults at Grand Prairie Golf Course. He was also a valued member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and was a Freemason and proud member and past master of its Central Lodge No. 10 in Kalamazoo and the Michigan Council of deliberation, PHA. For his exemplary service, Scottish Rite Freemasons, he received the 33rd and last degree, and distinction of sovereign grand inspector general of the United Supreme Council. He is survived by his wife of more than 66 years, Irma, and his son Christopher (Betty) Caldwell, both of Kalamazoo; grandsons Paeton R. Caldwell and Nathan S. Caldwell, both of Kalamazoo; great-grandchildren Kinleigh Jackson, Zeegwun Caldwell, Nathan S. Caldwell Jr., and Kai Caldwell; and a host of nieces and nephews. Also surviving are his brothers Larry Caldwell of Kansas City, Howard Pannell of Houston, Texas, and Ralph Pannell of Phoenix, Ariz.; his sisters Jackie Cary of Houston, Pauline Nelson of Houston, Judy Northern of Kansas City, Linda Weaver of Kansas City, and Beverly Kelsey, also of Kansas City. He was preceded in death by his parents A.D. Caldwell Sr. and Pearline (McGhee) Caldwell, as well as his step-mother Lois (Washington) Caldwell. Also preceding him in death were: his sister Christine Henderson of Kansas City; his brothers Barry Williams of Kansas City, Monte Washington of Kansas City, Ronnie Washington of Kansas City, A.D. “Adam” Caldwell Jr. of Kansas City, and Charles Pannell of Chicago; and his grandson Joe L. Jackson of Kalamazoo. The family would like give a special thanks to Carmina Jones of Knapps Flowers for the beautiful flower arrangements.

Mr. Johnnie Lee Caldwell

September 16, 1927 - July 19, 2022