08/27/2025
Violet Gwendolen Aldridge
Violet Aldridge died at her home in Happy Valley, Oregon at the age of 101. Before her death on August 17, 2025, she enjoyed a full life of family and friends, varied employment, and many interests.
Violet Gwendolen Parrish was born on August 8, 1924, in Portland, Oregon, to Bethel B. Parrish and John Arthur Parrish. Her father named her Violet after his favorite half-sister, and the middle name, Gwendolen, came from a community near Condon, Oregon, where her parents were married. She was the third child in the family, joining older brothers Norwood (Woody) and Justin.
Her family attended Central Church of the Nazarene in Portland, Oregon, where they were living. At the age of six, the family moved to a new home heated by a wood burning stove in the living room on the Nazarene Campgrounds at Stark and Craig streets. Her father was caretaker and patrolled the grounds. She remembered summers during camp meetings as especially good times. Two large tents were staked up for meetings and meals with straw scattered over the floors. She and her brother Justin would search for coins after the large meeting tent was removed and the straw burned. At the age of five during one camp meeting for children, she went to the altar and had her “sins” forgiven. At nine years old, her family left the campgrounds and moved to the city where they lived in a stucco home with heat and hardwood floors! She said her brother Norwood loved to wax, polish, and shine those floors.
Violet married Harold Aldridge on August 17, 1946, at the Portland Central Nazarene Church where she attended. She said that he was her “dream” during high school years. They kept contact while he served overseas during World War II and later married. Their first home was in Seattle, Washington, where Harold attended Seattle Pacific College and their first child, Wayne, was born in August 1947. Upon her husband’s college graduation, they moved to Portland, Oregon. Their second child, Gail, was born in Portland in January 1951.
As a young married adult, her church continued to be an important part of her life. From Central Nazarene Church, she moved her membership to Milwaukie Nazarene Church after she and her husband relocated the family to Milwaukie, Oregon. After moving to Oregon City, she attended Oregon City Nazarene Church. Over many years, she volunteered as a Sunday School teacher, church office support, church board member, missionary society president, Bible School teacher, among many other church related activities. When aging required moves to adult communities, she attended the worship meetings in her care communities as her health allowed. She never wavered in her Christian faith and belief that she would go to heaven upon her death.
Her first paying job was at nine years old washing dishes in the evening for a neighbor and his wife for which she received a few coins. She attended Commerce High to learn office skills and, later, Girls Polytechnic High School for cooking and sewing. After graduating from high school, she often took evening classes to keep her office skills sharp. She enjoyed secretarial work, especially when she could manage a one-woman office. She worked in that capacity for several different businesses over the years including a bank, phone company, exercise equipment retailer, lawyer, and construction explosives company. She also at one time worked for the Tariff Bureau typing tariffs for truckers, a Portland florist, and even tied fish grass for another local Milwaukie business. She said they lived on her husband’s income, and her income was for saving and travel.
The list of activities she enjoyed beyond family and church were many. She liked to sew and made clothes for her husband, children, and grandchildren. She also tried her hand at needlework doing cross stitch and embroidery. She took evening classes in knitting, stained glass, and painting; producing many completed projects. Arts and crafts continued to be a part of her activities until her death. Her real love was gardening and working on flower arrangements. She maintained a lovely yard and productive garden. She enjoyed swimming, and once, she was even talked into trying waterskiing. When she was in her early adulthood she liked to hike, backpack, and tent camp. In later years, she and her husband had an RV and traveled cross country in more comfort. She visited more distant travel locations including several trips to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, England, and Scotland. In later years, she spent many hours reading and working on jigsaw puzzles.
When Violet and her husband needed an easier lifestyle, they moved into Homewoods on the Willamette, a retirement community near Gladstone. After her husband needed more care, they moved together to Homewood Heights for assisted living. In April 2018, following a serious fall that required rehab, she moved to The Fountains in Happy Valley where she lived until her death.
Violet was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Aldridge. She is survived by her two children, three grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. We are grateful for the life she lived. She will be missed by her family and friends.
A Memorial Service and Reception will be 2 p.m., Thursday, September 4, 2025, at the Forum at Town Center, Fountains Building 8607 SE Causey Ave, Happy Valley, OR 97086.
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