Ben A. Hatridge

Ben A. Hatridge, 82, of Texarkana, TX died in a local hospital on Sunday, December 28, 2014.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Sylvia Hatridge; daughter, Sheri Taylor; granddaughter, Melody Hines, and her husband, Scott Hines; grandson, Jason Peeples; five great-grandchildren, Abby Hines, Garrett Hines, and Brooke Hines all from Texarkana, Texas and Destiny Peeples and Laney Peeples of Kansas City, Missouri; two brothers, Raymond Hatridge and Hershel Hatridge; one sister, Betty Carlton Eddings; and many more family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin and Mary Hatridge, his brother, Monroe Hatridge, and two sons, Kenneth Hatridge and Preston Hatridge.
Ben Hatridge was born July 7, 1932 in Little River County, Ashdown, Arkansas to Benjamin and Mary Hatridge. He attended Ashdown schools and graduated in 1950. Ben earned three football scholarships, but instead, chose to serve his country in the military. In 1952, Ben married Sylvia Edwards. They lived for a brief time in Ashdown, Arkansas before moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado where Ben worked on construction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). He served in the United States Air Force in the 3904th Air Police Squadron until he was honorably discharged in 1953.
Eventually, Ben and Sylvia made their home in Texarkana, TX. Through the years, he worked at Day & Zimmerman as a guard and electrical technician, in TV repair out of his home, and for the last several years, as a business entrepreneur in real estate financing. He was a member of Victory Christian Fellowship Church.
Ben loved his family dearly and enjoyed all his friends immensely. He was known to be a man of his word. As a young man he loved hunting and fishing. Traveling was a passion and over the years he and Sylvia visited places like Italy, Alaska, and the Panama Canal, to name a few. Ben also earned his pilot?s license and enjoyed flying, sometimes even as a pilot for skydivers. He will be dearly missed.
Services will be 1pm Wednesday, December 31, 2014 at Texarkana Funeral Home-Texas Chapel with Carl Teel officiating. Burial will follow at East Memorial Gardens with Military Honors.
Family will receive friends at the funeral home 6-7:30pm Tuesday, December 30, 2014 at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials in his honor made to Victory Christian Fellowship Church, 7504 West 7th St., Texarkana, TX 75501 or to Wounded Warriors, P. O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 or online at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.