Funeral Expenses for Vietnam Vet Stephen Auldridge

Saxon Auldridge is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

UPDATE: My grandpa will be laid to rest at arlington cemetery on july 30th at 1pm. Will try to live stream for those who wont be able to make it

UPDATE: His Viewing will be held at El Dorado Funeral and Cremation in Placerville on Saturday, April 27th, 2024, between 12-2pm.

Update he has passed, between 1:00-1:45Am 04/16/2024. he had all his loved ones by his side. He wasnt alone but Hes finally at peace. no more pain. no more cancer. Hes with his Mom,pets,battle buddies friends and family. The Auldridge family thanks everyone for your donations and all i ask is to keep us especially my grandma in your prayers, again thank you for everything everyone.

Ill be keeping this up to continue to help get aid for funeral costs, thank you very much, god bless.

Hi, my name is Saxon Auldridge, eldest grandson of Stephen Auldridge. I'm making this go fund me today to hopefully raise money to fulfill my grandpas dream of being buried at Arlington cemetery once passed. The costs associated with this is higher than a typical burial as it requires the work of two funeral homes. One funeral home will receive him here in Placerville California, prepare him, and then transport him to a funeral home in Virginia. Preparation and transportation is a significant cost. Arlington is a busy cemetery, and as such, interment for Grandpa might take a few months. This will incur additional cold storage costs. I've never made one of these before so bear with me. Any donation is most welcome.

A little back story about my grandpa; he first went to college at American River College in Sacramento, CA where he got drafted to Vietnam from 71-73. He served as radio operator, teletype operator where he later got wounded. He was awarded the Purple Heart on March 21, 1971 among other medals for valor. After Vietnam he worked for the U.S. State Dept. from 1972-2002 where he got to travel to various places across the world with his wife of 52 years, Wendy Auldridge (my grandma).

My grandpa was always there to cheer you up, give you wise advice, and when I was kid, he would always do this SpongeBob voice to try to make me laugh because I was scared of him due to the big beard he had at the time.

As years went on, my grandparents went all over the world, finally settling in Grizzly Flats, California, where they would build a forever home and watch all the grandchildren grow up to up to their 30s, where nothing but laughter joy and peace was spread across that home.

But the reason I'm making this is.......my grandpa was, unfortunately, diagnosed with T-cell cutaneous carcinoma a type of cancer originating from the Agent Orange chemical deployment that the government dropped throughout Vietnam to help de-leaf the forest for the troops to help see the hidden enemy. As a result, he's been battling this cancer for 20+ years (pretty much my whole life), has gone through over 28 surgeries all over his body and hundreds of chemo treatments, 6+ different types of treatment and lost an eye and half his nose in the process. It's like he got through one war and has now battled through a 2-decade long war with cancer.

After 20 long years of fighting, cancer has taken its toll and has he has been declining at a rapid rate. He is currently in hospice care. Hospice Nurses have let us know that he has hours maybe days left. With the help of my dad, my grandma, my stepmom and me, we go up every weekend to try to help provide as much care as we can.

P.S. hope I can grow a mustache like he had back in the day! iconic.... thank you for your time and thank you for your donations it helps us tremendously to put him to rest where he wants to sleep.