Scott Caldwell of Canton, MN passed away unexpectedly at his home in St. Cloud, MN on September 25th, 2023, at the age of 63. Scott was born on March 16, 1960, to Pat and Mary (Snyder) Caldwell at St. Ann’s Hospital in La Crosse, WI.
He grew up in Canton and graduated from Mabel-Canton High School in 1978 where “sports” was his favorite subject. In 1979, Scott enlisted in the United States Marine Corp on the buddy system with close-friend Randy Newman. They went through bootcamp at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, and he was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in California and in Okinawa, Japan. Scott went on to serve his country in active duty with an honorable discharge in 1985 as a Sargent. His loyalty and pride in his country was unparalleled. As his friends and family know, he started and ended many conversations with “Semper Fi.” In 1989, he attended High Tech Institute in Phoenix, AZ for Electronics & Computer Technology. He went on to work as Senior Director Security Services of the America’s for Symantec Corporation, Business Operations Coordinator at Comcast Cable in Minnetonka, MN, and later the Prosthetics Lab at the Minneapolis VA Center. Scott was married and later divorced. During this union he was blessed with his children Samantha and Zach and stepson Josh.
As a young man Scott went on fishing trips with his father that later turned into an annual event with family and friends at Zippel Bay Resort, Lake of the Woods. There were many “tall tales” told after these trips that seemed to grow much “taller” as the years passed by. He enjoyed reading books, watching baseball, old westerns like Bonanza and he had a great love of The Three Stooges; we speculated that he could have been the fourth! He spent time as a volunteer at the VA, working at soup kitchens and in ministry at his local church. Scott enjoyed grabbing drinks with friends and shooting the breeze. When you became a friend to Scott it was for life, and he would say his friends are “golden.” He had the gift for gab like his dad - you might have been a stranger when you met but a friend when you left. He also had a special bond with his mother who was his biggest supporter throughout his life and when she became ill with cancer, he returned that support.
By far Scott felt that his children were his greatest contribution to the world. Samantha had him wrapped around her finger from day one. Zach shared his dad’s love of baseball, and Scott was the biggest fan in the stands; his sideline coaching was most likely both a blessing and a curse! He loved spending time hanging out with his kids & grabbing food and watching lots of sports movies, road trips to Canton to hang with grandparents, cousins (and sometimes he even invited his siblings to join), and of course telling lots of silly jokes to make them laugh! There is no doubt that they brought the most joy to his life.
Scott is survived by his daughter, Samantha Caldwell of Minneapolis, MN, son, Zach Caldwell; of Spring Park, MN; siblings, Phil (Beverly) Caldwell, Cindy (Ross) Duckett, Dorothy (Pete) McKernan and Mary (Marvin) Kuhn; nieces & nephews Patrick & Stephen; Debra & Teresa; William, Maggie & Molly; Stephanie, Lindsey, Mitchell & Ryan; and 11 great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and infant sister Debra Kay.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 am, Monday, October 2nd at the Assumption Catholic Church in Canton, MN. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. A burial with military honors will be at 2 pm, Monday at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Preston, MN.
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