Honorees

← Back to directory

Year Honored
1999
Honoree
Roxanna L. Aldridge
Agency
Caldwell County Rescue Squad
Agency City
Ryland Heights
Agency State
Kentucky
Last Call
11/23/1994
Cause of Death
Other Medical
Biography
On January 23, 1994 just two weeks before her 20th birthday, Roxanna passed away shortly after 10 a.m. at Caldwell County Hospital from a pulmonary embolism.Roxanna had worked as a dispatcher with Pennyrile Emergency Assistance Center since May, 1993. She was a certified telecommunications operator and certified LINK/NCIC operator. Roxanna was a student at Hopkinsville Community College, where she was pursuing studies in criminology. Her dream was to work in law enforcement and some of her pallbearers were police officers.Roxanna had worked a shift at Central Dispatch the night before and was home with family members, when she heard a call to an accident. She was responding to give her help when she fell unconscious. Mayor Sherman Chandoin said the death of the young dispatcher was "a significant loss to the community." He ordered the flags at the courthouse to be flown at half staff in her honor.Central Dispatch Supervisor, Shera Mason said, "This is just going to be a big hole for us. Roxanna was young and full of energy and brightened up the place. She was good at her job; she could think quickly and was really good at dispatching." The Mayor stated that it would be impossible to guess how many lives were saved as a direct result of the efficient manner in which she handled the 911 calls. The entire community mourned her passing and extended sympathy to her family.Roxanna is survived by her mother, Katie Cornish, a twin sister, and a younger brother.Honored 1999