Earl
James Aldrich, age 92, of Shelby, formerly of Troy, passed away Sunday, July
31, 2005 at the Pondera Medical Center Extended Care in Conrad due to natural
causes. Cremation has taken place and no services are planned. Whitted Funeral
Chapel of Shelby is in charge of arrangements. Condolences may be sent to the
family at
www.whittedfuneralchapel.com.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Elsie of Shelby; daughters, Ella (Buck) Kidder of Troy, MT, Earlene (Steve) Jellesed of Kaysville, UT, Eloise Aldrich of Troy, and Eileen Richards and her best friend Steve Kramer of Shelby as well as 10 grandchildren and several great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; a granddaughter, Jackie Downey; a great granddaughter, Shannon Kidder; sisters, Gladys, Bessie, Vivian and Alice and a brother, Cale.
He was born Dec. 17, 1912 to Cale M. and Nellie (Sullivan) Aldrich in Madoc, MT where he attended school. The family moved to Thompson Falls in the 1930’s during the depression. He joined the U.S. Army during WWII, serving from 1942 to 1945, mostly in the Mediterranean Theater.
Earl married Elsie Hale on March 31, 1947 in Missoula.
They settled in Troy where he worked for a sawmill, first as a logger and later serving as a tail sawyer, lumber puller and lumber grader. He retired in Dec. 1974. They moved to Shelby in 1995.
He enjoyed fishing, camping, gardening and hunting, but his greatest love of all was his family.