Dorothy Eileen Ulrich Caldwell’s spirit left her earthly body on Sunday, June 22, at the age of 71. She was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Charles and Jane Ulrich. She graduated from Tremper HS in 1971 and received her BA in history from University of Wisconsin Parkside. In 1976, she moved to Lexington, KY to pursue graduate studies in anthropology at the University of Kentucky. It was there, in the first weekend of her arrival, that she met Mark Caldwell of Paducah, KY and decided she was going to marry him. They said their vows at the Unity United Church of Christ in Paducah in the summer of 1978.
Through 47 years of marriage, the couple raised their two children and went on many adventures together, including traveling to all 50 states together as well as many of America’s National Parks.
Her employment included teaching preschool at Unity Church, assisting at Bare Necessities store, other retail positions, and babysitting. She supported her children’s activities, such as marching band and Camp Kum-Ba-Ya; was a member of the Paducah Lioness Club, McCracken County Robert Burns Society, the Open Gate Garden Club, Joyful Flow Yoga; and volunteered in the community. Dorothy was inspired to gather donations to eliminate the library fines of local children. She and Mark served as host parents for the Paducah Chiefs for several summers and enjoyed attending baseball games to cheer on their guests. She was an avid reader and loved to continue learning. Dorothy served as church council president for the United Church of Paducah for many years.
Dorothy constantly worked to bring people together and do what she could to help them. Her special talent was finding ways to fill someone’s needs out of the kindness of her heart. She was known to her many friends and the people who met her for her generosity and compassion.
Dorothy is survived by her husband Mark; children Victoria and Christian; six siblings Charles Jr., Nancy, Mark (Carol), Elizabeth Spencer (Charlie), James, and William (Debbie); and numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents Charles Sr. and Jane, and sisters-in-law Theresa and Janet.
Several of Dorothy’s friends are providing fresh flowers from their gardens for her memorial ceremony. In lieu of flowers, her family encourages those who are able to support one of the organizations she cared about:
·McCracken County Public Library
(mclib.net/support-library)
·Cassidy’s Cause Therapeutic Riding Academy (cassidyscause.org/donate)
·National Park Foundation (give.nationalparks.org/goto/dorothy)
Memorial Services will be held at 1:00 pm on Monday, June 30, 2025, at Concord United Methodist Church with Rev. Jae Gottman and Rev. Tim Davis officiating.
Visitation will be held from 10:00 am until the service hour of 1:00 pm on Monday, June 30, 2025, at Concord United Methodist Church.
Milner & Orr Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Paducah is in charge of arrangements.