Donald R. McCaul

Waltham – Mr. Donald R. McCaul, of Waltham, died Wednesday, October 10, 2018 in Maristhill Nursing Home, Waltham. He was 97.

Don was born in Waltham on November 25, 1920, the son of the late Robert L. and Margaret J. (Roach) McCaul, and had been a lifelong resident. He was a graduate of Waltham High School.

After high school he enrolled at Harvard College and enlisted in the United States Army in August, 1942. After graduating from Harvard Don was assigned to the 689th Field Artillery Battalion and sent to Europe a month after the Allied invasion that came in June, 1944. He participated in the Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe campaigns. Among the fiercest fighting that he witnessed was the 'Battle of the Bulge' that came just before Christmas, 1944 during blistering cold weather in France.

After his discharge as a staff sergeant in December, 1945 he went back to school where he earned his master's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1950 and his Master in Social Work from Boston University in 1958.

His entire career was spent helping, counseling and encouraging others. Until his retirement he worked as a counselor and Executive Director of Children's Family Services in Haverhill. Don's concern for children and their families was recognized by several civic and charitable organizations in the Haverhill and Newburyport area. As stated in a resolution honoring Don; "He untiringly provided compassionate quality mental health to the citizens of Greater Haverhill without respect to their ability to pay in his leadership of Children's Aid and Family Society for thirty years."

Don was a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Academy of Certified Social Workers, the American Orthopsychiatric Association and the Northeast Association for Group Psychotherapy.

He leaves his nephews, Edward J. McCaul and his wife, Heather, of Richmond, New Hampshire and Benjamin V. McCaul and his wife, Sandra, of Boca Raton, Florida.

Don was the brother of the late Gerald J. McCaul, Robert L. McCaul, Jr. and Marjorie J. McCaul and uncle of the late Margaret A. McCaul and Robert L. McCaul, III.

Family and friends will honor and remember Don's life by gathering to visit in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20) on Saturday, October 20th at 10 a.m. followed by his funeral service at 11 a.m. Burial will take place at a later date in Calvary Cemetery, Waltham.