Douglas R. Caldwell ’76

Douglas R. Caldwell ’76 of Charlottesville, Virginia, a cartographer and lover of mapping, died February 1 after a brief illness. He attended Northampton (Massachusetts) High School and at Dartmouth discovered his love for geography. A member of Harold Parmington Foundation, he forged lifelong friendships within and outside the fraternity. He earned master’s degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Edinburgh. He worked many years for the U.S. Army Geospatial Center in Alexandria, Virginia, providing mapping services for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and was involved from the beginning with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and digitized mapping. After a short stint with what was then known as the Defense Mapping Agency, he found a permanent home in Alexandria with the Army Corps and its research and development agencies. His knowledge of maps, features, and place names culminated in his appointment as the U.S. Department of Defense’s representative to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, and he served as chair from 2013 to 2015. He and his wife, Sandy, relocated to Charlottesville in 2017. Daughter Meg, who worked in the University of Virginia athletic department at the time, prompted him to become an avid fan of numerous Cavalier teams. He embraced retirement and volunteered with the Charlottesville Fire Department and Smart Center for Civic Innovation Information. In addition to Sandy and Meg, he is survived by son-in-law Robby, grandchildren Alden and Renwick, son John, sisters Pamela and Marjorie, and St. Bernard Finn.