Mildred Aldridge

Dr. Mildred Light Aldridge went home to be with our Lord and reunited with her beloved husband, the Reverend Dr. Avery Aldridge on Thursday, September 22, 2005 at Genesys Health Park at the age of 77. Dr. Aldridge will lie in state at the Foss Avenue Baptist Church, 1159 E. Foss Avenue, and may be viewed Tuesday, September 27 from 12:00Noon until 6:00PM. A Memorial Celebration of her life will take place at 6:00PM, with Dr. W. G. Terry presiding. Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday, September 28 at 12:00Noon with a family hour commencing at 11:00AM. Pastor Derrick Aldridge, with Pastor Keith Evans of Racine, Wisconsin presiding, will give the eulogy. Dr. Aldridge, affectionately known as "Mrs. A", was an educator and administrator, retiring in 1986 as principal of Doyle-Ryder Community School. During her retirement years she remained a dedicated educator, serving as the administrator of the Eagle's Nest Child Care Center and administrative assistant to the Foss Avenue Baptist Church until her death. Along with her husband, she was a founding member of the Foss Avenue Baptist Church. She enjoyed traveling extensively throughout the United States and abroad. She was born in Earle, Arkansas on February 26, 1928 to Lige and Mary Light and moved to Memphis, Tennessee at a very early age later graduating from Memphis Public Schools. She attended Lane College in Tennessee before moving to Flint in 1946 with her family where she married Avery Aldridge on January 2, 1949, a commitment of 54 years. She received a bachelor's of education degree from the University of Michigan-Flint, a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Eastern Michigan University, and pursued course work for a doctorate degree in education administration from Michigan State University until her health no longer permitted her to continue. She also received honorary doctorate degrees from Selma University (Alabama) and Arkansas Baptist College. "Mrs. A" leaves with cherished loving memories daughter, Karen Aldridge-Eason and husband, Gregory; son, the Pastor Derrick Aldridge and wife, Lana; and godson, the Pastor Keith Evans and wife, Tonya. She also leaves an abundant legacy through her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and students who truly loved her. The Foss Avenue Church family and the extended Light and Aldridge families will remember her with much love. She was preceded in death by her husband, the Reverend Dr. Avery Aldridge; her sisters, Theresa Foster and Vera Whitmore; her brothers, Sylvester Light and Frederick Light; and her parents, Lige Light and Mother Mary (Light) West. Special thanks to friend and sister, Zetan Evans; nephew, Devere Bolden and family; the Foss Avenue Church family; the Eagle's Nest Child Care staff; the caring doctors, nurses, and staff of Genesys Health Park; and the many pastors, churches, and friends of the greater Flint community and beyond who lifted her and the family up in continuous prayers. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Foss Ave Scholarship Fund and the Mott College Foundation's Avery and Mildred Aldridge Scholarship.

Mildred Aldridge

February 26, 1928 - September 22, 2005