Jean Mae (Dobbert) Caldwell, Ed.D, 86, of Eureka was born on July 4, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois, and died on July 3, 2026 at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Eureka.

Raised primarily in Naperville, Illinois, she graduated in 1957 from Naperville High School where she was president of the Thespian Society. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Drake University, and a Master of Arts in History from the University of Kansas. She taught high school in Garden Grove, California and wrote for the New Standard Encyclopedia in Chicago before taking a high school teaching position back in Naperville.

In the early 1980s, she earned her Doctorate in Education from Northern Illinois University, during which time she worked for the Illinois Council on Economic Education. From there she went on to the University of Central Oklahoma to run the Oklahoma Council on Economic Education, conducting teacher trainings in countless Oklahoma municipalities, and teaching “The Dismal Science” to UCO undergraduates as a tenured, full professor. As an active member of the national Joint Council on Economic Education, she traveled the country, presenting papers at many conferences and accepting several awards.

In 2000, she retired to Santa Fe, New Mexico, after which she did some educational writing and substitute teaching, in order “finance my travel habit” (her words). In 2005, she moved to Eureka, where she served as Volunteer Coordinator for the local Democratic Party office, once being named co-recipient of the “Democrat of the Year” award for staffing the telephone line from home during the pandemic.

Jean is survived by her daughter, Margaret, and her sister and brother-in-law, Laurel and Edward Snyder of Oro Valley, Arizona. She was preceded in death by her parents, Lenard and Harriet Dobbert.

A celebration of life will be held at The Meadows apartment complex in Eureka, from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 15.