Funeral service for Marion “Dick” Louis Aydt, 83, of Moulton will be Thursday, May 15, 2014, at 2 p.m. at Moulton Baptist Church with Dr. Jesse Reeder officiating and Parkway Funeral Home directing. Burial will be in East Lawrence Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be from noon to 2 p.m. at the church.
Mr. Aydt died Monday, May 12, 2014, at his residence. He was born January 11, 1931, in Alamance County, North Carolina, to William Eugene Aydt and Verla Beatrice Hunt Aydt. Dick was raised in Oxford Orphanage from the time he was two until he completed high school in 1950. That summer he was drafted during the Korean Conflict. He opted to join the Air Force and served for 20 years. While stationed at the School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, he was the first to test the Air Force’s Aerospace pressure chamber. In 1968, he was sent to Vietnam where he did aeromedical evacuation. During his service there, he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Air Medal for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.
After retiring from the Air Force, Dick was one of 25 retired military men selected for the first class of MEDEX to be trained at UAB. This was the forerunner to today’s physicians assistant program. He was originally paired with Dr. Robert Rhyne and subsequently worked with Dr. Sam Hollabaugh, Dr. Willard Irwin and Dr. J.T. Smith. Because of the shortage of doctors in Lawrence County, the medical records at Lawrence County Hospital were far behind. On nights and weekends, Dick spent many hours dictating and updating them so that the hospital could achieve accreditation.
Dick took a few years break from his medical job to operate his own trucking business. He got his CDL, bought two trucks and hired a second driver.
When Radiology Group in Decatur bought their first mobile CT scanner to service Lawrence County Hospital, Hartselle Hospital, Decatur General and Parkway Hospital, they hired Dick to transport the scanner and to work in it as a MEDEX.
When he retired from medicine, Dick ran his own screen printing business for a while. He finally decided to retire for real and go play golf.
Dick was a very active member of Moulton Baptist Church. He sang in the choir, taught youth Sunday school, accompanied the youth on mission trips, and worked on church building missions and disaster relief missions for many years.
He also had a heart for animals and rescued many cats and dogs over the years.
In his leisure time, Dick liked to play golf, fly, bowl, ride his motorcycle, camp and fish. He flew a T-34 in an aerobatic team. He won the USAF bowling championship in singles, doubles and team bowling. Dick tried to excel in everything he did and found a way to have fun while doing it.
He was preceded in death by three brothers, William Aydt, Wayne Aydt and Richard Aydt; one sister, Ruth Odom and twin sister, Mary Louise Steele.
Survivors include his wife, Jo Ann Stewart Aydt; one son, Richard C. Aydt II and his wife, Paula; and three grandchildren, Richard C. Aydt III, Megan Nicole Aydt and Zack Aggen.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Moulton Baptist Church Youth Ministries, 755 Walnut St., Moulton, AL 35650.
