Edsel Ford Wooldridge's Obituary
Edsel F. “Ed” Wooldridge, 89, died April 19, 2026. He was born in Mesilla Park, NM, on September 10, 1936. He was the son of Joe Albury Wooldridge and Hulda Gruner Wooldridge, and he grew up in a loving Christian home and accepted Christ as his Savior as a child. He was the youngest of 9 children.
Ed worked as a paperboy from the age of 9 (a job he loved) and threw papers, first from a bike, then a motor scooter and later a car! He attended grade school in Mesilla Park and High School in Las Cruces, NM.
He joined the Air Force on February 1, 1955, and served as an air policeman until he was released from the Air Force on December 3, 1958, after serving 4 years. While stationed in Sedalia, MO with the Air Force, he met the love of his life, Helen Cooper, who was going to nursing school in Kansas City, MO. They dated for a year and a half, fell in love, and were married on February 23, 1959.
After their marriage, Ed and Helen moved to Albuquerque, NM. On September 4, 1959, Ed joined the U.S. Army. The Army sent him to Ft. Monmouth, NJ to school where he trained in communications and became an electronic technician. After that, Ed and Helen traveled the world together. They had 2 children, Jeffrey Edsel and Kimberly Sue who also traveled with them later as the Army moved them around. Ed was stationed and served in many states including New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland, New Mexico and Arizona. He served overseas in Puerto Rico, France and Germany. He also served on isolated tours in Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Ed was a loving husband, a wonderful father and grandfather. Some things he loved to do were studying the Bible, reading, fellowshipping with friends, tinkering with old cars, going to car shows, wearing old car shirts and western clothes, traveling and playing games with friends and grandkids. When stationed with the Army in Germany and traveling about in Europe, we went to Rome with the children. A funny incident happened in Rome. The Roman Colosseum was open where you could walk in if they did not have scheduled tours back then and our son, Jeff was taking karate classes in Germany at the military base. So, Ed and Jeff climbed up into the Colosseum and Jeff was practicing his Karate kicks there and they had me taking pictures! All at once, there came a security guard, and he let us know quickly that this was not allowed! So, they loved to tell the story of how they were kicked out of the Roman Colosseum!
Ed retired from the Army on May 31, 1977. We had a home built in El Paso, TX, (never to move again was our plan). Ed went to work for Rockwell, which was bought out by Alcatel Communications. In 1992, Alcatel moved their plant to Longview, TX.
We joined Mobberly Baptist Church, which we had loved and served in all these years. Ed served as a deacon and sang in the choir for many years.
Ed and Helen continued to enjoy traveling to new places, taking cruises and visiting family.
Ed is preceded in death by his parents, all of his siblings, his son, Jeffery and a grandson, John.
A funeral service will be held at Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview on Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 11:00 AM with a visitation from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. Mr. Wooldridge will be laid to rest following the funeral service at Rosewood Park in Longview, TX.
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