Earl E. Riddle was the third chid born to Ben E. and Bessie (Mitchell) Riddle in Saline, La. His first wife was Clydie Mathews (later Morgan) and they had one child, Doris Earline who later married Luther William Provence. Earl married his second wife Ruth several years after Earline was born. Ruth predeceased Earl by two years. They lived in Shreveport, LA and Earl worked for Bickham Dixon as an over-the-counter pharmaceutical sales rep until his retirement. Their house was on Oak Hill Drive in near the Shreveport Country Club off Jewella. Their little house was cozy and tastefully decorated. Earl and Ruth loved to garden and had awesome hydrangeas, gardenias and camellias to show for their hard work. Purple Martins always had a resident house to migrate to. Both Earl and Ruth were impeccable dressers and shopped at Selber Brothers and Rubenstein's in downtown Shreveport. Earl was rarely outside without a hat. They adored their grandchildren, Joe and Randy Provence of Shreveport. Ruth and Earl were proud members of Trinity United Methodist Church in Shreveport. Earl was especially close to his mother, Bessie Riddle, and his sisters Grace Mathews, LaDell Poindexter and Chris Blackstock. His mother, father and brother Vester Riddle predeceased him. Earl was fortunate and felt blessed when his beloved granddaughter, Madison Provence was born to his grandson Randy and his wife Wendy, he would have loved his other grandchildren that came later. Ruth passed away a couple of years before Earl, he was not the same and missed her terribly. Years after Uncle Earl died, my father was on hospice care and he kept telling us Earl was there. They were close to be brother-in-laws so I have no doubt his vision of Earl was comforting to him and hopefully it was a comfort to my dad.

Contributor's note: Earl was my uncle and I loved going to his and Ruth's home. They bought me my first Beatle's album (Help!) when I was about six and were worried sick they'd done the wrong thing! I can still remember the moment I opened it up, I probably screamed, their faces pained. Even though they were so proper, they did their best to make even brats like me welcome in their immaculate home. My favorite memories are sitting on their couch listening to KCOZ easy listening music on their huge stereo. Their favorite musical artists were Billy Vaughn and Glen Campbell. Aunt Ruth would have made an ice box lemon pie every visit, it's the recipe I use to this day to make one. They had ice cold Coca Cola in little bottles that Aunt Ruth would slip a little "sweater" on so it wouldn't leave a ring on the furniture. If the coke bottles weren't cold, we'd drink them out of brightly colored aluminum Colorcraft tumblers. I also remember a box of Russell Stover candy on their nightstand. I know they could have killed me when they discovered the times I'd bust out the bottom of the candy pieces to see if it was a flavor I liked. They would eat one piece of chocolate a night before bedtime.