My sister, Constance Jeanne Caldwell, M.D., passed away at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center on November 19, 2019 surrounded by her loving family.
Connie was an immensely generous and tenacious person who touched many lives in her long career as an activist, pediatrician, and health officer. Central to her work was a commitment to community and to increasing the accessibility of healthcare services for those most in need. She dedicated her life to service, and her family was her greatest joy.
Constance was born on July 9, 1956, in Oakland, California. She grew up in Kensington, California. She befriended her future wife and soulmate, Sharon McCorkell, in junior high school. She graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond, California in 1974. She attended UC Santa Cruz along with Sharon, and together they began a lifelong committed relationship in 1976. They became known as activists in the local LGBTQ communities of Santa Cruz and the Bay Area.
Connie earned her BA in Sociology and Community Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1979 and her MD and a master of science degree in the Health and Medical Sciences from the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program in 1988. She went on to work as a pediatrician at La Clinica de la Raza in Oakland, and later at Ukiah Valley Medical Center in Ukiah.
Sharon held Connie’s hand as Connie gave birth to Maya, their daughter, in 1986. Connie and Sharon were among the pioneers of openly LGBTQ parents raising children. The family moved to Mendocino County in 1993. After Sharon’s father passed away, they moved onto the small parcel of land where Sharon’s parents had retired. They grew vegetables, tended fruit trees, and raised many animals, including sheep, goats, and chickens. Connie became involved in the local fiber arts community, using wool from their own sheep to create handmade garments. For Connie, hand-spinning wool into yarn was a meditation. Textile arts were a way for her to connect to her spirituality, and the colorful works that she created were an expression of her deeply creative spirit.
The family moved to Davis in 2002. While in Davis, Connie began to reclaim her Jewish heritage, and she and Sharon became active members of Congregation Bet Haverim. Connie worked as a consultant for California Children’s Services and Redwood Coast Regional Center. Later, she worked as health officer for Mendocino and Yolo counties. In 2016, Connie and Sharon both retired and moved into a 1930s redwood cabin in Boulder Creek, which they lovingly restored by hand. Connie and Sharon became active members of Temple Beth El in Aptos, and Connie also quickly found kindred spirits in the local fiber arts communities.
Connie is deeply missed and lovingly remembered by her wife, Sharon McCorkell; her daughter, Maya Elizabeth McCorkell Caldwell; her two brothers, Timothy Caldwell and Kenneth Caldwell; their families; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Burial will be private. A celebration of life will take place in late December.
