Brenda Caldwell

life story

The Rev. Brenda Ann Caldwell

Poem by Mary Elizabeth Fry

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
 I am not there, I do not sleep. 
I am a thousand winds that blow. 
I am the diamond glint on snow. 
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
 When you wake in the morning hush,
 I am the swift, uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight. 
I am the soft starlight at night.
 Do not stand at my grave and weep.
 I am not there, I do not sleep. 
(Do not stand at my grave and cry.
 I am not there, I did not die!)

In Memory of Brenda

Brenda died peacefully at home, surrounded by her family and supported by hospice, after a long illness. She is predeceased by her father, George Monroe Doyle, her mother Lillian Livingstone, and her beloved grandmother Olive Livingstone. She is survived by her husband, The Rt. Rev. Bruce Caldwell, daughters Kela and Morgan, granddaughter Lydia, brother The Rev. George Doyle and many nieces and nephews.

Brenda was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. She attended the University of South Florida, where she met her husband of 52 years, Bruce. Her daughter Kela was born in 1973 and daughter Morgan in 1980. They were the focus of Brenda’s constant love and care. Brenda was an advocate for justice and a companion to those in need. She served in a center for abused women, marched with farm workers, cofounded an inner city ministry for children, coordinated refugee resettlement in south west Florida, and responding to a call was ordained a deacon to the Episcopal church. She became chaplain at the Cathedral Home for Children in Laramie, Wyoming where she cared for at risk youth. Brenda was always creative incorporating theater and circus arts in her ministry with children.

When one of the women she resettled from Ethiopia heard of her passing she said “my angel has died”. In spite of a long illness, Brenda faced her life with courage and faith, never complaining but always loving. She will be deeply missed and never forgotten.

At Brenda’s request, a small committal service will be held at a later date. She will be interred at the columbarium at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Minneapolis, Minnesota.