Thursday, November 15, 2007
Friends and family remember Aaron Caldwell as someone who never met a stranger. For instance, when he approached a man in Fort Worth, Texas, because the man was wearing a KU hat, spent 45 minutes talking to him and ended the night at IHOP for breakfast with the man and his friends.
Aaron Caldwell, Bedford, Texas, senior, was found dead in his apartment Sunday.
Jason Benouared, Caldwell’s long-time friend and business partner, said this was just one example of the way Aaron would make friends with anyone.
“I’ve never seen anyone with more people skills than that guy,” Benouared said.
Karen Harrison, Aaron’s mother, said that “Aaron would go up and talk to anyone, anywhere about anything.”
Bruce Caldwell, Aaron’s father, said they received Aaron’s phone book, and he had 300 to 400 friends in it. The family is calling every person in the phone book to notify them of Aaron’s death.
“It’s amazing that he had so many friends that he cherished,” Bruce said.
Aaron had a seizure disorder that began when he was 13. Aaron couldn’t drive until he went without a seizure for six months. He would have regained his license Wednesday. Because of the disorder, Aaron was very health conscious. He rarely drank alcohol, ate healthy and tried acupuncture and herbs to help his seizures.
“It was an interruption to his life, but he never let it be an interruption,” Bruce said. “He went on and did the things he wanted to do.”
The autopsy showed that Aaron’s right coronary artery was 75 percent blocked, and a heart attack, seizure or both could have been the cause of his death. The official lab report won’t be available for two months.
Harrison said Aaron had been out with friends the night before he died, and they said he was having a good time and in good spirits.
Aaron traveled to several countries. He completed a semester at sea in 2005, and traveled to Africa, China, Vietnam, Japan and Europe.
“For a kid who couldn’t drive, he still traveled the world,” Bruce said.
Aaron, who majored in economics and minored in business, planned to go into business with Benouared when he graduated in May. He and Benouared planned their business together for six years, and Aaron was in the process of buying half of the business that Benouared had already started. Aaron and Benouared started their first business together when Aaron was 18 years old.
“He really wanted to make something for himself,” Benouared said. “He wanted a foundation for life before he jumped into anything. I had never met a more level-headed and goal-oriented guy.”
Aaron also enjoyed dressing fashionably, cooking, attending concerts and watching “Seinfeld.”
“He was just wonderful,” Bruce said. “We couldn’t ask for a better son. We never had a problem with him.”
Aaron was a member of Phi Gamma Delta, and his family is asking that donations go toward the fraternity. Donations can be sent to Bruce’s business, and then be donated to the fraternity. Bruce’s address is 7622 Pebble Dr., Fort Worth, Texas 76118.
Services for Aaron will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary-Eudora Chapel. The visitation begins at 1 p.m.
Aaron is survived by his mother Karen Harrison, his father and stepmother, Bruce and Bonnie Caldwell, his sisters, Jaime Lynn Caldwell and Elena Speake and grandmothers, Judy Groves and MaryAnn Harrison.
Edited by Meghan Murphy
News briefs: November 13, 2007
This is the news in Brief for November 13, 2007.
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