Delbert “Tex” and Ellen Caldwell

The College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University will continue to lead the way in animal disease research and provide an educational experience that is unsurpassed, thanks to a bequest from the late Delbert “Tex” and Ellen Caldwell. Funds from the Mr. and Mrs. Delbert Caldwell Endowment have been directed to the college’s intramural research program to support projects involving production animals, as well as veterinary and graduate student scholarships, states Warwick Bayly, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. The Caldwell Scholarships and Fellowships created from the bequest will be awarded to undergraduate and post-graduate DVM students seeking careers as researchers or clinicians in agricultural animal health.

The endowment grants the couple’s wish to provide a permanent source of funding for research and scholarships at the College of Veterinary Medicine. The Caldwells raised cattle and owned several milk cows on a farm near Moscow, Idaho. The couple’s connection to Washington State was a technician from the College who would travel to their farm to treat their cattle. “Tex” and Ellen shared a love for animals and this gift demonstrates their appreciation for the expertise provided by the veterinary technician. The couple did not have children of their own, but through their gift they will help students further their education at WSU and prepare for successful careers in veterinary medicine.

Delbert Lee “Tex” Caldwell was born January 11, 1911, and grew up on a farm in Columbus, Arkansas, where his father, a veterinarian, raised breeding stock. Delbert and his four brothers and two sisters helped tend the horses, mules, and cattle on the farm.

Delbert grew to be six-feet, seven inches tall. He played basketball in high school and went on to play semiprofessionally. In the late 1930s, he began working in construction operating heavy equipment. He worked in southwest Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma for a few years before moving to Washington state to work on construction projects at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and Grand Coulee Dam. A few years later, he moved to Moscow, Idaho, to work on construction jobs in the area, including several new buildings on the WSU campus. He met his future wife, Ellen Anderson, in Moscow. They were married in 1950. Delbert owned two trailer parks in Moscow but sold them to purchase a ranch on Randall Flat Road and pursue his first love – raising cattle.

Give now to the “Mr. and Mrs. Delbert Caldwell Endowment“