David Winston Caldwell was born in Blytheville, Arkansas, on March 16, 1945. Blytheville is situated in Mississippi County, bordered by the Missouri Bootheel on the north and the Mississippi River on the east. The county, once known for cotton farming and a Strategic Air Command base, is now a leading steel production center. The family owned a 40-acre farm near the town. The farm was too small to support the family financially, although there was no lack of fresh vegetables and milk. Small farms such as this were “share-cropped” with a larger farmer, and David’s father had a job in town as a bookkeeper. His mother managed the house, garden, chickens, sewing, and many other things.
David was the middle son of three boys. He attended a rural school in the first grade and went to school in town for grades two through high school, where he graduated in 1963 as valedictorian. His main activity in school was band, where he was a first-chair trumpet player. After high school, he went to Washington University in St. Louis (B.S. Chemical Engineering- 1967), then to the University of Wisconsin (M.S. Chemical Engineering- 1968).
David joined Monsanto Company, the third largest chemical company in the US at the time, as an intern in 1966 and as a design engineer in 1968. He was one of the first wave of engineers able to employ computer aided design techniques. Later, after earning an M.B.A. at St. Louis University in night school, he moved to jobs in financial analysis, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance. Again, he was a leader in using computer aided techniques. He finished his career at Monsanto in 1995 as Director of Corporate Finance.
Doris Patricia (Williamson) Caldwell was born August 8, 1947 in Normandy, Missouri. Normandy is a northwest inner suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Her father was employed at the Ford plant in St. Louis. Her mother was a housewife. Patricia was the third of four children, two boys and two girls. She attended public schools in St. Louis County where she graduated from Normandy High School in 1965. Her main activity in school was the school newspaper, where she was editor and the leading advertising salesperson. She went to Washington University in St. Louis where she earned a B.S. in Business in 1969.
After graduation from Washington University, Patricia joined Pet Inc. as an accountant. In her early career Patricia experienced discrimination as a female in business jobs. She plowed ahead and enrolled at St. Louis University night business school, where she earned her M.B.A, and quickly passed the CPA test on her first attempt. She then worked as an auditor at the Touche Ross public accounting firm for two years to accumulate the experience requirement to be a CPA. Then she was employed by Mallinckrodt, Inc. as an internal auditor and division controller. Then she moved to Bunzl USA, Inc. as controller until 1992.
David and Patricia did not meet while they both attended Washington University in 1965-1967. They met in finance class at St. Louis University night school, where Patricia was the only girl in the class. They were married on December 22, 1972
After the marriage, David enjoyed bowling as a hobby, and the couple also bowled together in leagues. David had some success in bowling tournaments and, together with some “bowling buddies” formed an organization, the GRAN PRIX Tour, which sponsored tournaments in the area. When one of the founders wanted to open a pro shop at one of the local bowling centers, David agreed to finance the GRAN PRIX Bowling Supply business. With a business background and entrepreneurial spirit, David grew the one shop to a chain of six retail stores and then added a wholesale division (while still working full time at Monsanto). In 1992 the owners agreed to reorganize, spinning off the retail operation with David and Patricia retaining 100% ownership of the wholesale division. Patrica joined the company full time. David retired from Monsanto and came on board in 1995.
The bowling industry as a whole has not been a growth industry over the last 30 years as recreational choices and supply chains have evolved. Over 75% of the wholesale distributors have been acquired or liquidated. GRAN PRIX Bowling Supply remained profitable, acquiring the assets of seven companies as the industry consolidated, under the Caldwell’s leadership. GRAN PRIX became one of America’s largest distributors of bowling supplies and operated the largest bowling supply warehouse in the world. The assets of the company were sold as of December 31, 2023.
Paricia Caldwell, a beloved member of the bowling community and a driving force behind GRAN PRIX for over four decades, passed away at home on March 15, 2025 at the age of 77, following a courageous battle with myelodysplasia and Parkinson disease.
David Caldwell resides in St. Louis in good health and welcomes engagement with other conservatives.
Having experienced the American dream, David and Patricia shared a passion to preserve America’s founding ideals through educating others about its history. David learned American history and civics in high school before most of the educational infrastructure in the United States became corrupted with leftist ideology. He was particularly inspired by a Western Civilization course as a freshman in a university that no longer even offers the same course. David and Patricia both lived through the civil rights and women’s rights movements. They were inspired by the words of Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh, and other conservative giants.
The David and Patricia Caldwell Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation, inspired by the principles of the American Founding, which pursues a mission to strengthen the education of the American population, especially young Americans. The Foundation was established in 2012, as a 501(c) (3) corporation, with an initial funding of $1.0 million. Incremental funding is added each year. The Foundation’s grantmaking is augmented by direct grants and donor advised grants.