As a child, Barbara “Bobbi” Ann said she had dozens of fond memories of her father, Moses Eldridge.
She recalled the way he treated fellow employees while he was a supervisor for the Board of Education; his Army green 1956 Chevrolet car; and his dedication and love for his wife of 73 years, the late Ida Eldridge.
Most of all, she remembers his enduring kindness for his neighbors and his compassion for the neighborhood kids. “My dad was a really giving man. He always felt it was important to share with his neighbors,” recalled Ann.
Now, Eldridge’s family and neighbors are pouring in to return the favor and lend a helping hand to his family as they make plans for his funeral.
Eldridge, who was 108 years old and the oldest living World War II veteran in Ohio, passed away on the morning of Sept. 4, his family said.
Sherri Burkes, Eldridge’s granddaughter and caretaker at her Westerville home, said that Edridge passed away due to complications from an upper respiratory infection.
The family is still working on funeral arrangements, but Burkes said that Eldridge’s nephew, Rev. Moses Anderson, will be traveling from Georgia to give Eldridge’s eulogy.
Ann said that after her mother’s passing, Eldridge moved in with family to take care of him. She vowed that she would never put him in a nursing home.
Even though she grew up with her father — whom she described as a “giant” in her eyes — Ann said having him live with family was a blessing because she got to know him on a deeper level than when she was a child. From learning about their shared sense of humor to their “crazy laugh,” Ann said she is grateful she was able to bond with Eldridge before his passing.
“I saw a whole new side of Moses Eldridge,” she said.
Eldridge was 18 years old in 1943 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as a water purifier. After returning home to Columbus, he worked two full-time jobs: at the state Board of Education and for the Columbus railroad.
While this enabled Eldridge to provide for his family, Ann also said this was part of the reason why she did not get to spend as much quality time with him in her childhood as she would’ve liked.
While Ann, Burkes, and the rest of Eldridge’s family are in mourning, Ann said there are life lessons he taught them that they’ll never forget — like treating employees and coworkers with respect and love and kindness to neighbors. Ann’s favorite lesson was her dad’s own acronym, “Q-TIPS.”
“Quit taking it personal,” said Ann. The point of that lesson, she said, was to not let people take away your pride or dignity.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Moses Eldridge, Ohio’s oldest World War II veteran, has died at 108 years old
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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