Fallen SC deputy was to be a first-time dad. Here are his funeral arrangement details
Last Sunday, Austin Aldridge learned he was going to be a dad for the first time.
This Sunday, he will be buried.
A Spartanburg County deputy, Aldridge, 25, was shot to death Tuesday responding to a domestic violence call. Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright in an emotional press conference earlier this week called it an ambush.
Duane Leslie Heard, 63, has been charged with murder.
Aldridge and his wife Jessica were described on a gofundme page as being nervously excited about becoming parents. They learned they were expecting the baby on Father’s Day. The baby is due in February.
Aldridge graduated from Wren High School in 2016. He and his wife attended North Greenville University. Austin attended from the fall 2016 semester through the fall 2018 semester, pursuing a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice, the university said in announcing flags would be lowered in his honor.
Jessica Aldridge graduated from NGU in 2018, the university said.
Austin Aldridge graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy in 2019. He started working with the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office on April 8, 2019., according to his obit on the J.F. Floyd Mortuary website.
The Aldridges were married Sept. 14, 2019.
Austin’s friends described him as having the disposition of a golden retriever, “playful, funny, unwaveringly loyal, and downright goofy at times,” the gofundme page said. He enjoyed playing tabletop board games and watching “The Lord of the Rings” movies.
The page said he loved his job and “couldn’t imagine doing anything other than serving the community that he loved.”
“Austin was a precious soul who loved the Lord and served on the security team at his home church, First Baptist Lyman in Lyman, SC,” the obituary said. “He was kindhearted, slow to anger, patient, genuine, witty, brave, and incredibly loyal to his family, friends, and community.”
He called his closest friends “the party.”
His funeral will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday at The Church at the Mill, 4455 Anderson Mill Road, Moore, SC 29369 with burial will be in Westwood Memorial Gardens, 6101 Reidville Road, Moore, SC 29369, with The North Carolina Highway Patrol Honors Team and Caisson.
The service will be private but streamed live on the church website, www.churchatthemill.com.
By Friday afternoon, the gofundme page had raised over $140,000 of the $250,000 goal from more than 2,000 people, including one who gave $5,000. anonymously.
After a news conference Friday, Sheriff Chuck Wright told Fox Carolina he hopes they get “a million bucks.”
“We’re going to have to take care of them and we will,” he said in the interview that was broadcast live on Fox Carolina website.
This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 11:28 AM.