Pollard Caldwell
November 12, 2010 19 Comments
David “Pollard” Harrison Caldwell was born February 27, 1940, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the son of David Pollard Caldwell of Union City Tennessee and Katherine Harrison of Kansas City. He passed away Friday, November 12, 2010 at Kansas City Hospice House, with his wife and daughter by his side. He was 70 years old.
Pollard grew up in Kansas City where he served as an acolyte at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, earned the rank of Eagle Scout, and graduated from Pembroke Country Day School in 1957.
In 1962, he graduated from Beloit College in Wisconsin where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He played football, was on the wrestling and golf team and received a BA in history and education.
After graduation, he taught history and coached in Juda and Evansville, Wisconsin then he returned to Kansas City to become a department manager for Fitts Dry Goods. His community and civic involvement let to his election as President of the Kansas City Junior Chamber of Commerce. He then moved on to homebuilder, developing Pollard Caldwell Homes, and building well over 100 homes in the greater Kansas City area.
After retiring from real estate, Caldwell returned to teaching as a permanent substitute at Blue Valley High School where he was much loved and respected by all the students and as one said was, “the kindest person and best teacher I know.”
Until recently, he lived in Drexel, Mo., where he was an active member of the Drexel United Methodist Church and had been a member of the Lions Club. Pollard and Jackie moved to Lenexa in August of 2010.
He is survived by his wife, Jackie, daughter Jenny Welcher, sister Katherine Conely, step-children Chris Minter and Cari Rodriguez, and grandchildren Jaylee and Jaykob Welcher, Kahn and Kaia Minter, Sage and Shay Rodriguez and Elias Pepper, all of whom he adored and will miss him dearly.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, November 19, 2010 at St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church, 12251 Antioch Rd, Overland Park, KS 66213. Memorial gifts may be made to the Kansas City Hospice House, 12000 Wornall Rd, Kansas City, MO 64145 or the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, 179th and Antioch Rd, Overland Park, KS 66085.
Written messages may be left below for members of Mr. Caldwell’s family.
Jackie — my thoughts and prayers are with you. Although I didn’t know Pollard well, he must have been a very special person to have chosen someone as wonderful as you as his wife. Take care.
I was a student at BVHS in 2000. Mr. Caldwell was such a nice guy and a great teacher. I always found it amazing, he was the one substitute teacher that everyone seemed to have an unwritten respect and admiration for. When we walked in and saw him in the teachers chair, we knew it would be a good day. He will be missed and our thoughts and prayers are with your family.
My prayers are with you! He was one of my favorite subs in high school. I was at BVHS from ’95-’99. He will be missed greatly!!
I was also a student at BV, class of 2000. He was such a wonderful man. He had a genuine love for all his students and treated us all like his own. I agree with Scott…when we saw Mr. Caldwell, we knew we were in for a god day. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you. I know he will be missed.
Mr. Caldwell, was always the best sub to ever have, he was so kind and will be greatly missed by lots of students and always everyone’s respect when he would fill in for a teacher at BVHS.
I was also a student of Mr. Caldwell’s at Blue Valley. He was a kind teacher, and a wonderful person. He knew everyone by name, and knew things about their lives. He will be missed.
What an amazing man, he had the respect of all of his students. I was a student at BVHS 10 years ago and every time you walked in the room and saw his face you just had to smile. We were all lucky to get him as an educator and a mentor. He will be missed, my thoughts are with you and your family.
Mr. Caldwell was the BEST. Scott said it right when he talked of having a good day when Mr. Caldwell was there. He always smiled. He knew EVERYBODY’s name. I never knew a thing about him until I read this. I couldn’t tell you what my second period class was my sophomore year or what the football teams record was my senior year, but I will NEVER forget Mr. Caldwell. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
How heartbreaking to see such a wonderful man pass. However the memory he left will never be forgotten. I was a student at BVHS 10 years ago and hands down he was the most appreciated and respected substitute teacher I had seen in my 4 years there. Not many teachers were high-fived by students for being cool. Only him. Thoughts & prayers with all of the family during this time.
I graduated from Blue Valley in 2002. I will always remeber Mr. Caldwell as one of the kindest, sweetest, and most fun teachers there was. I can not imagine walking the halls of Blue Valley with out seeing his smiling face.
Mr. Caldwell…u have forever left footprints on my heart!!! You will be missed! Couldn’t wait for the days u were substituting at BVHS!!! That smile and humor will never be forgotten. Prayers go out to the family…He was a great man
I am also a former BVHS student. Mr. Caldwell was such a great teacher and supporter for all the students. He had a wonderful genuine and humble nature about him, and I’ll always remember him announcing my basketball games. He will definitely be missed in the halls of BVHS…my prayers go out to all the family members.
I too was a student at Blue Valley in 2002 and will miss him dearly. He was loved by the high school students, and had a kind heart. He will be missed!
There was nothing better than hearing that Mr. Caldwell was filling in for one of your teachers. A very kind man who will be missed. My thoughts are with your family.
What a wonderful man…his kind demeanor and gentle spirit made all of the student’s time at BVHS better. I will always remember him walking the halls with coffee cup in hand. He always remembered the students by name and would take the time to sincerely ask how you were doing. He will be missed, and my heart goes out to his family.
I’m another BVHS class of ’02 student that will miss Mr. Caldwell. There were several substitutes that made the rounds, but Mr. Caldwell was the only one that we seemed to take seriously and not goof off (as much) when he stepped in with his trademark cup of coffee. It wasn’t because he was strict or would yell at unruly students, but because he did take the time to get to know everyone on a personal level and he did know everyone by name. I doubt I’m alone in wishing that he had been a full time teacher instead of a substitute, but then again we would’ve only had the opportunity to have him for one year instead of several.
Thoughts and prayers to his family, he’ll be missed by many.
I love that Mr. Caldwell made such an amazing impact on the lives of students that even years later people respect and love him enough to share such wonderful memories. Mr. Caldwell knew my name before I really even knew his or realized he would become a fixture in my years at BVHS. I remember one of my freshmen friends asking me “Who was that guy?” after he stopped me in the hallway to congratulate me on a great cross country race only a month after transfering to BVHS. Now that I am currently a teacher, I can truly understand and appreciate how much effort and energy is required to make so many people feel loved and important. Mr. Caldwell will be greatly missed.
I’m not sure what I can say that hasn’t already been said about Mr. Caldwell. I guess I could tell you a little bit about my personal experiences with him. I wasn’t what you would call a “model student”! I was always trying to push the boundaries to see what I could get away with. I never got very far with Mr. Caldwell! I will always remember how he would just smile at me and say my name. It was as if he was saying, “Yeah right, Dan”. He was probably one of the most effective and memorable teachers I have ever had! He will surely be missed. My thoughts and prayers will be with you.
Dan “Chewy” Stewart 95′-99′
I’m not sure what I can say that hasn’t already been said about Mr. Caldwell. I guess I could tell you a little bit about my personal experiences with him. I wasn’t what you would call a “model student”! I was always trying to push the boundaries to see what I could get away with. I never got very far with Mr. Caldwell! I will always remember how he would just smile at me and say my name. It was as if he was saying, “Yeah right, Dan”. He was probably one of the most effective and memorable teachers I have ever had! He will surely be missed. My thoughts and prayers will be with you.
Dan “Chewy” Stewart 99′