Wilmer Aldrich

Dr. Wilmer W. Jim Aldrich passed away on December 17, 2014. He was born on January 21, 1926 in Lenox, Iowa. His parents were Roy Winfield Aldrich and Alice Biggerstaff Aldrich. At the age of two years his family moved to Beatrice, Nebraska where he attended school through the 8th grade. In 1940, he moved to Sheridan, Missouri where he attended high school and lettered in sports and participated in school plays all four years. Upon graduation in 1944, he entered the Army and was sent to Camp Blanding, Florida where he had 17 weeks of infantry training. After completion of his training, he was sent to Europe where he was assigned as a rifleman to Company C, 334th Regt., 84th Infantry Division. He served in a rifle squad from the Siegried Line to the Rhine River and on to the Elbe River where they met the Russian Army. Of the service awards he received, he was most proud of the Combat Infantry Badge and the Presidential Unit Citation which his battalion earned for making the Roer River crossing in assault boats and driving on to the Rhine River during which they lost over half of their platoon. Upon returning home, he attended Northwest Missouri State where he earned a B. S. Degree in 1949. In 1950, he married Barbara Jane Caton. During the next ten years, he coached basketball, taught History and was a school administrator in Missouri. The highlight of his coaching career was taking his team to the state tournament during his first year of coaching. During those ten years, he earned his Masters and Doctoral Degrees in School Administration from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Upon completion of his Doctoral Degree, he joined the Texas AI Education Faculty. He retired from the Education Faculty in January 1988, after serving over 20 years as Chairman of the Education Department and as Director of the School Administration Certification Program. He served on several TEA Accreditation Teams that visited Teacher Education Programs in colleges and universities in Texas. He was also a member of, or chaired other committees of various state educational organizations and served for many years as the college representative on the Texas Secondary Schools Committee of the Southern Association for Secondary Schools, which accredited secondary schools in eleven states. Over the years, many of the school administrators in South Texas completed their certification work under his program.
He was a member of the American Legion and was a Life Member of the Elks Lodge, the Disabled American Veterans and the 84th Infantry Division Railsplitter Society composed of WWII veterans of that division. He held various offices in the Railsplitter Society, including the office of National President.
Dr. Aldrich was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Loren, Ed and Steve, and a granddaughter, Jennifer Holt. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Barbara, one son, Bill Jennifer Aldrich, and a daughter, Janet Stan Holt. He is also survived by four grandchildren, Sarah Daniel Visel, Scott Jennifer Aldrich, Josh Holt and Luke Holt, as well as two great granddaughters, Blakelyn Aldrich and Ailey Visel. He is also survived by one sister, Karen Ann Jim Swaney, two sistersinlaw, Francis Aldrich and Norma Aldrich, three first cousins, and several nieces and nephews. He also leaves many friends and former students that helped enrich his life.
A memorial service will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Kingsville at 2:00 p.m. on December 20, 2014. Memorial donations may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Kingsville or a charity of your choice.

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