Mr. Samuel Franklin Ethridge July 25, 1921 – December 9, 2013
Mr. Samuel Franklin Ethridge
July 25, 1921 – December 9, 2013
Madison, Alabama
Samuel Franklin Ethridge passed away December 9, 2013, in Madison, AL, at the age of 92. He is survived by a son William Michael Thomason of Bethpage, TN, and a step-daughter Penelope Loria of Jacksonville, FL; two grandsons Michael Shane Thomason and William Nicholus Thomason; a granddaughter Jennifer Renae Thomason; a brother Thomas Ethridge; three sisters Mildred Upton, Marie McBride, and Patricia Ratledge; eleven great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Samuel and Ethel Davis Ethridge, wives Dorothy Susan Thomason Ethridge and Audrey Earlene Turner Ethridge, and two brothers William Ervin Ethridge and Clarence Otis Ethridge.
Mr. Ethridge was retired from the U.S. Navy where his career spanned World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He served in Occupied Japan following WWII, and he served aboard the U.S. Lake Champlain that recovered astronaut Alan Shepard in America’s first manned space flight. His Naval rating was Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Reciprocating Engines) First Class. Mr. Ethridge was a life-time member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Vistitation was held on Thursday, December 12, 2013 at Valhalla Funeral Home. The funeral service was held immediately following, officiated by Bro. Glenn Colley in Valhalla’s Chapel. The interment with military honors was held in Valhalla Memory Garden’s Chapel of Peace in the veterans section.
