Sandra Lee Caldwell, née Peterson, inveterate traveler, lover of all creatures great and small, and beloved partner, mother, and grandmother, departed on her final adventure on July 5, 2026. Born in Oshkosh, WI, on May 2, 1943, she was the daughter of the late Roger and Margarent Peterson, née Timm, and the loving, bemused, and long-suffering wife of Bill Caldwell, to whom she was married for almost sixty years.

Sandy could best be described as a citizen of the world who loved her family, her country, and her God. She was happiest when she was combining all of these loves.

Sandy's childhood in Wisconsin included roller skating to school (or ice skating on frozen days), enjoying picnics with extended family on their dairy farms, and playing endless card games with friends and family, especially her brother Larry and his family. She graduated as salutatorian of her high school class and was the first person in her family to go to college. At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Sandy was a proud Badger and member of Delta Zeta sorority. She majored in Iberian and Ibero-American Studies and spent a summer on a study abroad to Mexico City, where she experienced her first earthquake. After graduating from college, Sandy moved to Washington, DC, where she worked as a translator in one of the alphabet agencies. There she met William (Bill) Caldwell, who became her closest confidante and partner in all adventures, domestic and foreign, for the next sixty years. After Washington, DC, Sandy and Bill's work adventures took them to Woodstock (NY), Cape Canaveral (FL), Dallas (TX), Minneapolis (MN), Fort Lauderdale (FL), and lastly to Harrison (TN), where they have lived for almost fifty years.

"Service" was Sandy's unofficial middle name, and she found great joy and satisfaction in making the world a better place for others. Among her many, many volunteer activities, Sandy was a devoted band parent for her two daughters. She spent eight years serving as treasurer for the Chattanooga Central High School band, collecting parking money at Friday night football games, coordinating the band's annual candy bar and shelled peanuts fundraisers, and ensuring that the band always had funds for instruments and new uniforms. Sandy loved animals dearly, and over her many years in Chattanooga, she supported programs at the Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center, Pet Placement Center, Forgotten Felines (Huntsville), and American Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue, among other animal-related organizations. Sandy was especially proud of her 25-year volunteer service record at the Tennessee Aquarium, where she volunteered first as a docent and later in the kitchen where she prepared meals for all of the aquarium's animals. Informally, Sandy single-handledly fed and cared for the entire population of wild birds, squirrels, racoons, possums, skunks, ground hogs, and the occasional deer that shared her Harrison neighborhood.

Sandy was perhaps most proud of her work with Girl Scouts. First in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and then in the (former) Moccasin Bend Girl Scout Council, Sandy served as Troop Leader, Service Leader, and Trainer. As Leader of Troop 52 for twelve years, she guided a group of young girls from first grade through graduation from high school. As evidence of the enduring legacy of Sandy's work with the Girl Scouts, each of those former Scouts has since gone on to become successful leaders in their own families and communities.

When Sandy wasn't volunteering, she was off exploring the world, usually with Bill and her daughters and their families by her side. Sandy was a seasoned traveler who had visited every state in the United States and every continent except Antarctica. Some of her favorite trips were a summer in Finland where she experienced the endless nights of Midsummer, a shockingly cold plunge into a lake in Lapland, and hitchhiking to Norway on a mail bus, going on safari across southern Africa, visiting her daughter in Moscow, birding in Cuba, and visiting almost every country in Latin America and South America. An avid birder, Sandy could usually be found wearing her birder's hat and with at least one set of binoculars and camera wrapped around her neck and multiple bird books in her pockets. Sandy's last adventure with her family was to Alaska, where she watched the sun set on Denali, the Northern Lights dance across the sky, and orcas and humpbacks leap into the air. Sandy had just renewed her passport and was making plans for her next trip.

As a native Wisconsonian, Sandy was a lifelong lover of brats, cheese curds, cold beer, Leon's frozen custard, and lively conversations and extended sessions of storytelling (some of them true) with family and strangers alike. Introducing Leon's to her granddaughters gave her a great sense of satisfaction and reassurance that they could carry on such an important family tradition. One of Sandy's last indulgences was Leon's chocolate custard that her niece Marsha packed in an ice chest and hand-delivered from Wisconsin.

Sandy loved her family dearly. She and her beloved husband Bill were constant companions and shared sixty years of laughter, fun, and adventures. She was a devoted mother to two daughters, Lissa and Kristin, and to her two sons-in-law, Andy and Joe, whom she loved as if they were her own sons. Sandy found exceptional joy in her two granddaughters, Arwen and Kaeley.

Sandy was predeceased by her parents, Roger and Margaret Peterson, her brother Larry, and her pets Morgan, Mandy, Scamper, Scooter, Boodles, Stormy, Nosey, Bruno, and Snickers. She is survived by her husband, Bill, daughters Lissa Caldwell and Kristin Peto, sons-in-law Andy Baker and Joe Peto, her granddaughters Arwen Peto and Kaeley Baker, her niece Marsha Walejko (Casey Draeger) and her children Bailey and Brighton, her nephew Mike Peterson (Amy Peterson) and their children Olivia and Theo, her cats Lucky and Roscoe, her grandcats Peri, Patches, Wesley, and Helix, and her granddogs Charlie and Murphy.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to American Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue (www.coonhoundrescue.com), Pet Placement Center (https://www.petplacementcenter.com/), or the animal rescue organization of your choice.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, July 9, 2026 from 9:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. at Turner Funeral Home. A funeral service will follow at 11:45 a.m. with Rabbi Sharon Cohen officiating.

Sandy will be laid to rest in Chattanooga National Cemetery.

Please share your memories and express condolences to the family on their guestbook.