Stephen Linwood Aldrich

Dr. Stephen L. Aldrich of Black Mountain, North Carolina, died December 24, 2013 at Mission Hospital, Asheville, NC.  He was a resident of Highland Farms Retirement Community.  He was the son of Dr. Charles Anderson Aldrich and Mary G. McCague Aldrich.  He is survived by three children:  Anne McCague Machmer of Canton, Pennsylvania, Catherine Bunell Abramson of Sugar Hill, Georgia, and Thomas Charles Aldrich of Takoma Park, Maryland, as well as a granddaughter, Jennifer Abramson of Avon, Colorado; step-children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.  He was pre-deceased by his first  and second wives, Dolores Bunell Aldrich and Betty Sangston Aldrich, his sister, Cynthia Aldrich Rowe of Northbrook, Illinois and a brother, Dr. Robert Anderson Aldrich of Seattle, Washington.

Dr. Aldrich was born in Evanston, Illinois.  He attended Deerfield Academy and Amherst College before entering Northwestern Medical School from which he received his medical doctorate in 1947.  Following his residency in Internal Medicine at St. Luke’s Hospital (Chicago) and a year as the Parmly Fellow (teaching and research) at Northwestern University Medical School, he joined the Central Intelligence Agency and served until 1979.  While with the CIA, he established their overseas medical support program and created and managed the first national life sciences program in scientific intelligence.  He subsequently was appointed Deputy Director, Research and Development; Deputy Director, Medical Services; and Program Manager of a major national government-industry technical intelligence program.  He served as a consultant to the President’s Scientific Advisory Committee, the National Institutes of Health, and the Departments of Defense and Justice.  He was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the Intelligence Medal of Merit.  He was an officer of the Washington, D.C. Academy of Medicine and a First Lieutenant in the Army Active Reserve.

In 1979, Dr. Aldrich joined the Caterpillar Tractor Company as Medical Director in Decatur, Illinois, where he initiated a number of health promotion, education and injury reduction programs.

Upon leaving the Caterpillar Company, Dr. Aldrich moved to Tryon, North Carolina where he served as volunteer Hospice Medical Director for eight years as well as other volunteer activities.  During this time, he was elected to the Second Wind Hall of Fame and received the Governor’s Award for Volunteer services.

He and his wife, Betty, moved to Highland Farms, Black Mountain, NC, in 1994.

Memorial services will be conducted by Rev. Cynthia Arnold of the Tabernacle United Methodist Church in the Assembly Room at Highland Farms on January 7, 2014 at 3:30 p.m.

Private burial will be in Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetary, Old Route 70, Black Mountain.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Salvation Army, Asheville, NC, or to the Tabernacle United Methodist Church, 385 Tabernacle Road, Black Mountain, NC  28711.

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