Bobby Kenneth Aldridge (Ken), was called home by his Savior, Jesus Christ, on January 7, 2023. He was born on August 28, 1934, in Sentinel, Oklahoma, where he lived on the family’s cotton farm. It was a tough life, but the house was filled with love. Ken loved to ride his horse into the small town to see movies and horse play with his three siblings. He would save his nickel that he was given for popcorn to buy balsa wood airplane models after the movie to play with later. As a young man, he lived a life full of adventure working in the Oklahoma oil fields before joining the Air Force to serve his country as a munitions specialist during the Korean War. After being honorably discharged from the Air Force he worked in loss mitigation for various retail organizations in Texas and Louisiana before meeting the love of his life in Dallas on a blind date. He married his loving wife, Margaret on February 14, 1959, and they began their lifelong adventure. After the birth of their first child in November of that year, Ken decided to change careers and began learning the home building trade. He had a successful run building custom homes in Garland, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. In 1963, they had their second child and Ken felt his country roots calling and bought some land in East Texas. He fell in love with the area, the people, and the land, eventually moving full-time to the area in 1979 where he made his living from the land with some help from his homebuilding and wood working skills. After their kids were grown their adventure continued with a move to the mountains in Northern California where Ken returned to his homebuilding roots. After a few years in the mountains, they began missing their friends and the sandy land of East Texas and returned to the area to live out their lives outside of Mineola, Texas. Ken was an avid hunter and fisherman, an awesome father to his children, and a loving husband to Margaret until her passing in 2020. The kids joke that the first words Margaret said to Ken when they were reunited in heaven was “what took you so long.”

Ken was preceded in death by his loving Mother and Father, Mary Leona Kimsey and Alva Clinton Aldridge, and his oldest brother, Alva Kim Aldridge. He is survived by his children Robin Lynn Brand (Roy) and Barry Clinton Aldridge (Kathleen), and siblings Barbara Ann McNally (Pat) and brother Jack Clinton Aldridge (Carly). In addition, he has three grandchildren (Jessica, Cassandra, and Kenneth) and multiple great-grandchildren.

The family would like to thank the staff at Watkins-Logan Texas State Veterans Home in Tyler, Texas, and the staff at Heart to Heart Hospice for the loving care they provided in his final days on this earth.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to K9s for Warriors (k9sforwarriors.org) or Sand Flat Baptist Church (4494 FM 857, Grand Saline, TX. 75140).