Betsey Clark Caldwell died peacefully at home on December 3. 2016. She was 96 years old. Her beloved husband of 68 years, Philip Caldwell, retired Chairman of the Ford Motor Company, died in July, 2013. A New Canaan resident for over 30 years following her husband’s retirement in 1985, she and her husband had been members of the Congregational Church in New Canaan. She lived a happy, fulfilled life, supporting her husband and her children. Her witty one-liners amused everyone. Mrs. Caldwell was born May 31, 1920 and was the youngest and last to survive of eleven children born of Louis T. Clark and Desiree Branch Clark in Ellicott City, MD. She relished hosting frequent family reunions in New Canaan with all of her brothers and sisters and their spouses. Mrs. Caldwell graduated in 1940 from the University of North Carolina with a major in political science. During World War II, she worked in Washington, D.C. where she met Philip, a lieutenant assigned to the military supplies unit of the U.S. Navy Department. In 1953, she moved to the Detroit area, and later lived in England and the Philadelphia area. Mrs. Caldwell had a wide-ranging interest in travel, history, government, books, poetry, music, and American decorative arts. She met many world leaders as she traveled widely with her husband on business trips. Her interest in history was stimulated by her family roots which stretched back to the early colonial period in Virginia and Maryland. Her father took her to the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1938 to see the last surviving Union and Confederate veterans. She participated in many historic preservation and restoration initiatives, and was a special friend to Mt. Vernon for many years. She served on the board of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in Connecticut at the Webb Deane Stevens House and as a Regent of Gunston Hall in Virginia. Among her many community leadership roles in the Detroit area, she served as Vice Chair of the Board of Save Orchestra Hall, one of Detroit’s most successful historic preservation efforts. Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell’s interest in American decorative arts led to the building of a major collection of furniture, paintings, maps, and associated objects. In her later years, Mrs. Caldwell was active in the Waveny Care Center Adult Day Program, a special place in her mind. She was wonderfully attended at home by very special caregivers and her long time housekeeper. Mrs. Caldwell is survived by her three children and their spouses, Lawrence Caldwell, Jane Caldwell, Lucy C. Stair, Tom Stair, Desiree C. Armitage and Bill Armitage; six grandchildren David Caldwell, Allison C. Frisbee, Rebecca Stair, Peter Stair, Sarah Armitage, and Amelia Armitage; and six great grandchildren John Frisbee, Ruth Frisbee, David Frisbee, Eleanor Frisbee, Philip Caldwell, and Adelaide Caldwell. The memorial service will be private. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to George Washington’s Mt. Vernon.