Kansas City mother of 3 was ill for years. But her family was shocked at how she died
Editor’s note: This feature is part of a weekly focus from The Star meant to highlight and remember the lives of Black Kansas Citians who have died.
When Rosslynn Caldwell, host of the “Everybody Loves Ross” podcast, was nominated for Best Podcast at this month’s Kansas City People’s Choice Awards, she was anxious.
Not believing she had a chance at winning, she did what many of us do in tough times. She called her mom. Her mother, Marcha Caldwell, was a source of support and encouragement in the lives of those who knew her.
“It’s crazy now thinking that was one of our last times we talked,” her daughter says. “I will miss the phone calls and her. She was like me times 10.”
Caldwell, a Kansas City native and mother of three, died Aug. 11 at the age of 51 after drowning in a pool at the home of a friend. Her oldest daughter says the family had prepared mentally for losing their mother at an early age. Caldwell had been battling with the illness sarcoidosis, an incurable and painful inflamation that made life incredibly difficult for her.
“Everyone is just really shocked about the way she passed away. My mother was sick for years, so we thought that would be the reason,” says her daughter.
She remembers her mother as a fun-loving and energetic person who enjoyed listening to her favorite R&B singers like Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige. Those who knew her say that you would never know she was suffering from an illness.
“She was a giving person, she never judged anyone. She would open her home to family and friends who didn’t have a place to stay and needed help. I used to joke and tell her she ran a homeless shelter,” her daughter says, laughing.
Before she had sarcoidosis, Caldwell was employed by Truman Medical Center for years as an account specialist for their insurance department. As the illness progressed, Caldwell was unable to carry on her full-time job duties and was forced to leave work and start disability.
As her daughter plans Caldwell’s funeral, she remembers the many lessons her mother instilled in her that she will teach her own daughter.
“She was a really good mom. She would give us advice. She was open and supported whatever her kids had going on and wanted to do in life,” her daughter says. “I feel like she gave me her work ethic and how we care for our kids. We both wanted to be the best at whatever we were doing.”
The Caldwell family knows that she will be missed by all who knew her, from her grandchildren she would babysit in her free time to her friends who she would play cards and dance with to old-school music. She will be remembered by most for her massive sense of humor and constant smile.
Even through the grief, Caldwell’s daughter was happy that before her passing her mother was able to see her win The Kansas City’s Peoples Choice Award for Best Podcast, a victory she would go on to dedicate to the memory of her mother after she passed a few days later.
Other remembrances
Reginald Tyrone Smith
Reginald Tyrone Smith, a physical therapist, died July 29. He was 70.
Born Feb. 23, 1952, in Kansas City, Kansas, Smith was the first-born child to parents Clinton and Mary Smith. He was remembered as a born leader, given the nickname “Trailblazer” due to his headstrong demeanor. At Bishop Ward High School, Smith excelled in extracurricular activities, such as drama, dance and football, where he was an offensive lineman.
After graduating in 1971, Smith was the first of his family to attend college, first at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, where he played varsity football his freshman year, and then Pittsburg State University, where he would graduate with a bachelor of science in physical therapy.
He moved to Dallas to work as a physical therapist in public medical facilities and home health care. Smith would find what his family describes as his dream job with ROPES (Reality, Oriented, Personal, Experience, Services), a court-appointed therapy program as an alternative to juvenile detention for first-time offenders. Smith could apply not just his physical therapy knowledge but also teach team building, problem solving, leadership skills and self-esteem.
After years in Texas, Smith moved back to Kansas City to be closer to family, with whom he enjoyed a good time, his family remembers. He enjoyed traveling around most of the U.S. and many other countries as well.
He is survived by his siblings: Clinton Eugene Smith Jr., Castina Elizabeth Cooper, Kim Yvette, Janet R. Macpherson, Jess Verlyn Smith, Teia Bennett Smith, Thalia Marie, Vernon Flunder, along with a host of cousins, great nephews, great nieces and many lifelong friends.
Louis E. White Sr.
Louis E. White Sr., military veteran and business owner, died on July 31. He was 95.
White was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Louise and Roy White, the youngest of three children. The family moved to Kansas City, and White graduated from Sumner High School in 1945.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in the Korean War until 1953, when he was honorably discharged.
In 1951, White married Peggy Mae Smith, and together they raised six children. White would be remembered as a family man who loved to be surrounded by family and going to gatherings.
He worked for the U.S. Postal Service on mail cars on the railroad and as a transfer clerk. In time, he would create his own excavating and demolition company, Louis E White & Sons. White would also own White’s Fishing Lake, a concession stand which sold bait and other fishing supplies. White loved to fish, and when he wasn’t running his businesses, he could be remembered fishing on the banks of a lake.
White also had a passion for travel that he would pass along to his children on yearly vacations around the country, teaching his children about the world around them.
White was known to many as “The Godfather,” due to the help he was known to give to young men and women who needed assistance turning their lives around. He will be remembered by his family for his incredible work ethic and caring nature.
He is survived by his children, Patricia, Louis Jr., Dexter, Bruce, Pamela and Peggy; along with grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and special friends.
