THOMAS ALDRIDGE Obituary

Name: Mass of Christian Burial for THOMAS ALDRIDGE
Start: 2021-12-10T15:00:00.000Z
Location: Holy Trinity Catholic Church

ALDRIDGE, Thomas W.

Age 73 of New Carlisle passed away Thursday, December 2, 2021, with his wife by his side. Tom was a teacher and Director of Music at St. Anthony Catholic Church after Graduating from the University of Dayton. He went on to work in

Controls Engineering and sales until his retirement. Tom's true passion was as the Organist and Choir Director at Holy Trinity Catholic Church for over 40 years. He was a loving father of three, devoted husband of 52 years, and a generous spirit who never hesitated to lend a helping hand. His love of music was an inspiration to many throughout his life. Tom was a member of the American Guild of Organists, UD Alumni Band, and the Centerville Community Band. He is preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Ruth Aldridge of Dayton, and his brother, Jack Aldridge. Tom is survived by his wife, Teresa; daughter, Janet Aldridge; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Chris Aldridge, Mike (Kimberly) Aldridge; a sister and brother-in-law, Mary Ann Aldridge-Riddell and Dale Gudorf; a brother and sister-in-law, Walter Joseph (Eleanor) Aldridge; six grandchildren, Zoe Aldridge, Aiden and Brennan Best, Grant, Claire, and Rose Aldridge and one great-grandchild, Amelia Rose Morris. Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 10:00 a.m. Friday, December 10th at Holy Trinity Catholic Church at 272 Bainbridge St. in Dayton, OH. Burial will follow at New Carlisle Cemetery 11545 Musselman Rd, New Carlisle, OH 45344. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice of

Dayton or Holy Trinity Church.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Dayton Daily News on Dec. 7, 2021.

Memories and Condolences
for THOMAS ALDRIDGE

Sponsored by Westbrock Funeral Home - Dayton.

6 Entries

Theresa & Chris

January 6, 2022

My thoughts and prayers are with you. Jeffrey my son was doing a search for Chris and thar is how we come to find of Tom's passing. We just wanted to let you know our thoughts and prayers with you.

Melissa Lawson Jackson, Jeffrey Lawson. Timothy Lawson, Michael Barcy

Laura Holland

December 11, 2021

I'll miss hearing him play his songs after Mass, for Halloween every year I think he played Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor.

Amy Rohde

December 10, 2021

I didn't know Tom very well (he was always in the choir loft and I was in the pews : ) but his music and his voice touched me over the years. I have to say that he was one of the reasons that I fell in love with Holy Trinity over 20 years ago, along with Father Sandy.
I always loved hearing his gentle and soothing voice, so much so that he sang for our wedding.
I am certain that He is singing with the angels now.
And I wonder if He and Deacon Mike are having a conversation about whether we'll ever get air conditioning at Holy Trinity!
My thoughts and prayers are with your family.

Judi Trick

December 6, 2021

Tom was my go to man whenever I had a problem with my computer. In addition to being an excellent musician for many years at holy Trinity, he was also a fix-it man. May you Rest In Peace singing with the choir of angels in your heavenly home.
He was a gentle soul willing to do whatever was asked of him.

Mary Cummins Wlodarski

December 6, 2021

Tom was amazing to collaborate with, talented and kind. Working together on liturgies, especially funerals and Lenten Evening Prayer, are my dearest memories of him. Thank you dear Tom. I´m glad your suffering is ended and may you rest with angels I so often heard you sing about. My prayers to your family.

GARY GEISEL

December 5, 2021

In 2014-15, as Music Director at Emmanuel Catholic Church, I asked the Music Director at Holy Trinity Church - Tom Aldridge - to be our organ restoration Consultant. Tom became our sage on the mountaintop who helped us with his knowledge as we went about the process of restoring Emmanuel Church's 1887 Pipe Organ.

Tom knew the centuries-old mechanics of pipe organs. He was an engineer by profession and was right up to speed about the cutting edge electronics being put to use on modern organs. Tom had his own hands-on experience with fixing up old instruments, having put his talents directly in the upgrading the pipe organ at Trinity. He was well-respected as Dean of the Dayton Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. He connected me with others so that I could see and play their pipe organs, and begin to learn the variety and complexity of this "world largest musical instrument." Those were intense, busy times as we weighed the options, and finalized the specs for this restoration. Then the rebuilding happened: the result is a beautiful new/old instrument as beautiful and complex as its history, and arguably, one of the finest pipe organs in Ohio.

What can´t be conveyed very well in this story was Tom´s personal warmth, generosity and consideration in this whole process. We interacted frequently, we became friends.

God bless you Tom. You have been such a gift for so many people.

Respectfully,
Gary Geisel - Director of Music, Retired
Emmanuel Catholic Church, Dayton, OH

Showing 1 - 6 of 6 results