Dalton Aldridge Obituary

Dalton Quitman Aldridge of Champaign, Illinois, passed away on Monday, March 17th, 2025 after a brief illness. He passed peacefully. He was 90 years old. Born at home in rural Blackshear, Georgia on December 23rd 1934, Dalton was the seventh of nine children born to Ben A. and Mary E. (Pittman) Aldridge. He attended Blackshear High School. He had his birth officially registered with Pierce County Georgia in August of 1951 so he could follow four of his older siblings into service in the United States Army. His parents presented the family bible as evidence of his birth.

Dalton trained and worked as a butcher for a short while before volunteering to switch to the United States Air Force, where he studied, worked in, and later taught aviation electronics. He spent the rest of his Air Force career traveling the world. While stationed in England, Dalton’s friend Frank introduced him to his girlfriend's younger sister, Barbara. Frank married Margaret and on April 14th, 1956, at the Parish Church of Saint Andrews in Ham, Dalton married Barbara.

Dalton and Barbara had four children together, finally settling in Illinois upon Dalton’s retirement from the Air Force. Dalton was a family man who led a colorful and storied life. On a family vacation back to Georgia, for example, a boring drive through the country would ignite in wonder for his children when Dalton would turn and say, “We used to play a lot back there as kids. That’s where my friend, so-and-so shot my other friend, so-and-so, with an arrow. He was alright, though,” or “That’s where so-and so crashed the plane his family had just bought. He was alright, though.”

He always did his own work on his cars and even brought an old English Ford Anglia back to the States.  Never at a loss with a mechanical problem, he switched the steering column from the right to the left side of the car by himself, in his driveway.  He was the first in his family to make a career out of his military service, and he was the second in his family to enter college. He liked to fish, though he was never fond of hunting. He learned to fly, spent a year doing search-and-rescue in Greenland, loved England and reading history. A Godly man, he taught Sunday School for years but rarely pointed out his service to others. He seemed to know everything there is to know about airplanes, cars and machines of all kinds—and a little about everything else. On a few occasions, he picked his granddaughters up at school on a riding mower; they were embarrassed at the time, but they laugh telling the story today. He lived a straightforward life, owned his mistakes and fixed them when he could, and he left an impression on everyone he met. His friends mostly called him Dalt or DQ, but his family knew him as Papa Dough, a very young attempt at pronouncing ‘Grandpa Dalt’, or simply as Papa.

Dalton Aldridge is survived by his wife, Barbara J. Aldridge of Champaign, IL, and four children:  Dawn Virginia Thomas of Paxton, IL; Kevin Dalton Aldridge of Grandview Heights, OH; Suzanne Mary (and Dean) Meece of Champaign, IL; and Geoffrey Paul (and Grant) Aldridge-Duncan of New York, NY. He leaves one surviving brother, Charles (and Cindy) Aldridge of Nahunta, GA and one brother-in-law, Jerry Butler of Milledgeville GA. He is also survived by eight grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his daughter-in-law, Debra (Kevin) Aldridge, and his parents, Ben A. and Mary E. Aldridge, as well as five brothers and two sisters.

We will miss him forever.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 22, 2025, with Military Honors at Baier Family Funeral Services, 406 E. Pells Street, Paxton.

Condolences and memories can be shared with the family at www.baierfuneralservices.com.