Edward Douglas Hildreth, Sr.

1923 - 2010

Edward Douglas Hildreth, Sr., 87, Clarksville, died Sunday, August 1, 2010, at Gateway Medical Center.
A celebration of life service will be held at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday at Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Chapel with Rev. Larry Spraker and Rev. Maury Norman officiating.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and from 8 a.m. until the time of the service Wednesday at the funeral home.
Entombment will be in Valhalla Memory Gardens, Huntsville, AL.
Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
He was born May 7, 1923 in Wilson County, Tennessee to Charles Edward and Eva Robinson Hildreth. He married Marie Neal Hubbard in Nashville, Tennessee April 20, 1945. She preceded him in death.
He was an electrical engineering graduate of the University of Tennessee. He was a registered professional engineer in Alabama and Tennessee. During World War II he served as an Infantry Officer in the Pacific theater and in the Korean War he served with the 187th RCT Airborne (Rakkasans) as a communications officer. After his military service he worked as an engineer with Miller Electric Company on the construction of the Savannah River Project in Akin, South Carolina and with Patchen and Zimmerman consulting engineers, Augusta, Georgia on various projects throughout the Southeast. He was the first manager of the Dekalb Telephone Cooperative Inc., Alexandria, Tennessee and made numerous acquisitions of small telephone companies building a communication system from 508 telephone users to over 22,000 plus today with modern equipment and services. He was President of the Tennessee Telephone Association in 1960. In 1960 he moved to Huntsville, Alabama and joined NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center as Director of Communications supporting various NASA awards including two NASA Exceptional Service Medals. He also received the Middle Tennessee Boy Scouts of America Long Rifle Award and was a Charter President of the Alexandria, Tennessee Lions Club. He was a member of the Alexandria, Tennessee Masonic Lodge, Nashville Scottish Rite, Huntsville, Alabama Cahaba Shrine, VFW and American Legion. He attended Park Lane Church of the Nazarene.
Survivors include a son E. Douglas Hildreth, Jr. (Vicki); a sister Evelyn Griffin; three grandchildren, Josh Hildreth, Washington, D.C.; Kelly Stevenson, Denver, CO; and Katie Hildreth, Clarksville, TN: one great-grandchild and numerous nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers will be Josh Hildreth, Jim Homan, Mike Wise, Kelly Stevenson, Katie Hildreth, and Joe Griffin.
Arrangements entrusted to Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home, 1510 Madison Street, Clarksville, TN 37040. Online condolences may be made at www.neal-tarpley.com.