Pastor David Barbee never had the opportunity to meet Julie Aldridge. So before he began sharing at a memorial service to honor her life, he asked her co-workers at Texas County Memorial Hospital for a description.
“They said things like, ‘Bubbly, smiley, generous and kind –– the kind of person that lights up the room,’” Barbee said.
While the funeral for Aldridge and three others from last Thursday’s shootings in Tyrone was occurring in Willow Springs, TCMH held a small memorial service at the same time inside its chapel on the hospital campus.
Barbee, the pastor of Houston Bible Baptist Church, is the president of the chaplain program at the hospital. He said he shared a message of hope in times of suffering and supporting one another.
“I encouraged folks not to try to make sense of it, because it’s senseless and not to try to find meaning because it’s meaningless,” Barbee said. “But to simply trust God’s promise that through the suffering He will be with us and make us better for the experience, even though we can’t understand it or comprehend it.”
Julie Aldridge was a registered nurse with Home Health of the Ozarks, a service of the hospital that offers personalized care to patients living in their homes. Authorities say she and her husband, Dee, were two of seven people murdered inside their Tyrone homes last Thursday night.
TCMH plans to memorialize Aldridge with a new garden area that will be planted in the spring at the hospital. The hospital said Aldridge was known for growing flowers and working outside in her garden. She had a degree in horticulture in addition to a nursing degree.
“Julie embodied what it means to represent the healthcare profession,” said Wes Murray chief executive officer at TCMH. “Julie was quiet, caring and highly compassionate. She loved her patients and loved taking care of her patients.”
The funeral service for Dee and Julie Aldridge as well as Wayne and Janell Aldridge was 11 a.m. Thursday at First General Baptist Church in Willow Springs. Murray and Doretta Todd-Willis, chief nursing officer, attended the service.
Barbee, who was joined by fellow chaplains Bill Rice, Orvil Gayer and TCMH general surgeon Linda Milholen, MD, said Julie Aldridge’s co-workers were hurting but coping well. About 40 people attended the service.
“The spirit there was lifting her up and celebrating her life,” he said.
I encouraged folks not to try to make sense of it, because it’s senseless and not to try to find meaning because it’s meaningless.”