Judge William W. Caldwell, who served on the Dauphin County and later the federal bench, has died.
U.S. Middle District Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner announced the 93-year-old Caldwell’s death in a memo to court personnel Monday morning. Conner said his colleague died Sunday.
Caldwell, a Harrisburg resident, was a Dauphin County judge from 1970 to 1982, when President Ronald Reagan nominated him to the Middle District Court. He assumed senior judge status in 1994 and until recently continued to hear cases in the federal courthouse in Harrisburg.
The judge served in the Army Air Force during World War II, graduated from Dickinson College in 1948 and earned his degree from The Dickinson School of Law in 1951. He spent nearly 20 years in private practice before donning a black robe.
U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III said Caldwell “seemed pretty indomitable” to the end. He called Caldwell a “great friend and mentor.”
“Fair to say the whole Middle District court family is very sad today,” Jones said. “Judge Caldwell was a judge’s judge and a truly iconic figure both in the Dauphin County bench and bar and among the federal judiciary and Bar. He was truly beloved.”