Dorothy Stout Smith Aldridge

Dorothy Stout Smith Aldridge of Little Rock, 88, died Tuesday, January 30, 2018. She was born December 3, 1929 in E. St. Louis, Ill., the youngest of three children. At the beginning of WWII, the family moved to Little Rock so that her father, who was the Chief Engineer for Alcoa, could oversee the construction of a plant in Bauxite, Ark. They remained there for the duration of the war, moving back to E. St. Louis in 1946. Mrs. Aldridge graduated from Depauw University in Greencastle, Ill. in 1951 with a degree in Microbiology and Chemistry. In 1952, she completed her training as an ASCP certified Medical Technologist at Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. She began her career in the Barnes Hospital Laboratories followed by three years as a member of a research team in the Department of Surgery of Washington University Medical School. While exploring that avenue, the team was involved in the early use of the electron microscope. They were also the second group in the country to use kidney dialysis. She co-authored several papers which were published in medical journals. Her last position was Chief of Missouri Psychiatry Laboratory for the state of Missouri. For two years she taught medical technology students at Southern Illinois University in Belleville, Ill. at night. She was blessed with two happy marriages. On May 2, 1959 she was married to Roy W. Smith, an electrical contractor in St. Louis. They enjoyed 21 years together, traveling many places around our country and the world. After Roy died in 1980, she returned to Little Rock to keep the house for her widowed father. In 1998 she met H.W. "Jacks" Aldridge when they were training to be Stephen Ministers at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church. They were married June 17, 2000 and had 11 happy months together prior to his death. In addition to her parents and her husbands, she was preceded in death by an infant brother and by her sisters P. Louise Stout Simmons M.D. of Lubbock, Texas. Survivors include her step-daughters, Helen Kay Miller of W. Memphis, Ark., Anita Ashby of Dennsion, Texas and Carolyn Junkin of Newport, Ark. She is also survived by a very special long-time friend David J. Roberts, whom she considered to be her much loved "informally adopted" son and trusted confidante. Mrs. Aldridge was a long-time member of Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church. Over the years she served in many capacities including the Stephen Ministry Administration Board. She was member of the Dietz Dialogue Sunday School Class. She was involved with other community organizations particularly educational and health related groups. She trained as a hospice volunteer and served the terminally ill and their families. She served for 6 years on the Arkansas Hospice Board. Caring for hospice patients and her church family was her passion and privilege. Her outside interests included foreign and domestic trips, hiking, reading, poetry and music. She had a life-long love for animals and her legendary long road trips were her passions, especially trips around Australia, New Zealand, and hikes through the Rocky and Smokey Mountains. She has now returned to "The place from where she came" of which she often spoke lovingly. A funeral service will be held at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church (4823 Woodlawn Dr, Little Rock, Ark. 72205) officiated by Dr. Jeff Hampton, on Friday, February 2, 2018 at 1pm followed by a burial at Forest Hills Memorial Park (10200 Hwy 5 N, Alexander, Ark. 72002). Memorials may be made in Dorothy's name to Arkansas Hospice Foundation (14 Parkstone Cir, North Little Rock, Ark. 72116) or to Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Ruebel Funeral Home. An online condolence book is available at www.ruebelfuneralhome.com