Billie Marie Aldridge (Hammond) departed this Earth on August 19, 2024. She was born in Decatur, Alabama, on October 31, 1941, and married the love of her life, Jackson Kelley Aldridge, on November 24, 1963. Billie and Jack moved to Orlando in 1970 and settled in the East Orlando area where they lived the remainder of their lives. They were married for 60 years.
Billie worked as a bookkeeper for Jamerson-Lawson Corporation for over 20 years and was a founding member of the Pershing Avenue Christian Church (PACC), now known as the Community Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. She was very active at PACC and was involved in youth programs and fellowship groups. Billie’s church family became a second family where she made many lifelong friendships and was viewed as a second mother by many.
Billie and Jack loved to travel, going on many trips along the East coast visiting lighthouses and traveling abroad to Europe and Australia. She was a collector of lighthouse figurines and Precious Moments collectibles. However, her real joy was spending time with her family. Trips home to Alabama were frequent, and she and Jack rarely missed the yearly family reunion. In later years, Billie and Jack embraced being grandparents and were an integral part of the early years of their only grandson, Benjamin.
Billie was an exemplary wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend. She embodied the best of qualities: unconditional love, kindness and faithfulness. She bravely fought a long illness with Parkinson’s disease with a quiet strength and grace. While our hearts mourn her loss, we take comfort in knowing she is without pain and with her beloved Jack.
Billie is preceded in death by her husband Jack Aldridge and her parents Albert (Billy) and Elsie Hammond. She is survived by her sons Kelley (Melanie) and Patrick, her beloved grandson Benjamin, her brother James Britton Hammond (Lynn), and her halfsiblings William Hammond (Kandi) and Amy Hammond.
The family will hold a celebration of life at Community Christian Church in Orlando on Saturday, September 14, at 1 p.m. Flowers and/or memorial contributions may be sent to Community Christian Church, 6800 Lake Underhill Road, Orland, FL 32822.
