Dale D. Eddy

 Dale Duane Eddy
Beloved and respected father, husband and friend.

Dale Duane Eddy; was born October 23, 1937, in Columbus, Indiana; died at 9:45am on Tuesday July 20, 2021; surrounded by family after a long fight with and complications from congestive heart failure at Medical City North Hills Hospital. A long-time resident of North Richland Hills, Texas, he is survived by his wife Sandra Eckerman Eddy, two sons Christopher and Scott, brother Dean Eddy and wife Judy, double-cousin Merrill Eddy, plus many more Eddy & Zurbrugg cousins and Eckerman in-laws; with extended family and friends from near and far!

Dale was born in Columbus, Indiana.  He grew up with a unique collection of boyhood, church friends camping and fishing, who called themselves the ‘Brush Creek Gang’!  He graduated from Columbus High School, then on to the University of Evansville earning a bachelor’s degree, having served as President of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.  Then, just as he was about to begin studies for the religious ministry, he abruptly joined the United States Marine Corps to learn to fly, which became a passion. Dale continued his extensive, USMC, aviation training in helicopters at Santa Ana, California, where he met his sweetheart Sandra Lee Eckerman, whom he would shortly thereafter marry. Having been assigned by the USMC to Vietnam to fly H-34 helicopters with HMM-163, Dale was seriously wounded in combat in 1965 as featured in Life magazine’s April 16, 1965, issue. (Click on the link: myyankeepapa.com) After some recovery and his military discharge, Dale took a job at Braniff Airways in Texas; so family relocated from California to the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  Following his flying career with Braniff, Dale stayed involved in aviation as an occasional, contract pilot in Africa and the Middle East.  Eventually enjoying many years locally as a flight instructor, he received Higher Power Aviation’s ‘Values Award’ in recognition of ‘Values-Based Leadership and Service to the Aviation Community’ in 2011.  The Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration presented him with ‘The Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” Award in 2015.  Never too proud to do things outside the cockpit, when circumstances demanded, Dale was part-owner of a carpet cleaning business, and worked in real estate sales. However, his favorite interests were sons Chris & Scott, extended family, church, aircraft, music, good friends, his ’62 Chevy and Rangers Baseball… continually sharing his patience and loving encouragement with his wife of 57 years, Sandra, in her cultural projects. Dale had a full and wonderful life meeting lots of challenges along the way, declaring that he, “…never would have imagined having such an interesting and exciting life!”  Dale’s resting peacefully now with his Mom Faye and Dad Ed, and long-time friends and family in the Heavens —probably ‘flying’ whenever he gets the opportunity!

His Memorial services are Thursday, August 5th, 2021, 10am visitation and 11am service at Forest Ridge Funeral Home Memorial Park Chapel, 8525 Mid Cities Blvd, North Richland Hills, TX, 76182. Please let us know in advance if you would like to share a few words about Dale at his funeral service. After the morning services at Forest Ridge Funeral Home, we’ll break for lunch on our own, then regroup at 1:45pm, to honor Dale at the DFW National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy, Dallas, TX 75211. (Check for the specific lane at main entry.)

You’re invited to join us for an informal ‘Celebration of Dale’s Life’ on Saturday, Aug 7th between 2pm and 8pm at our NRH home.  Come casual and follow the north driveway to park vehicles in the pasture.  If you’re planning on attending any part of Dale’s events, please contact us via email if convenient, otherwise just come ahead.  May we encourage you to mask-up if not vaccinated.  Please email any questions or concerns.

If you can’t attend, please log-on to Facebook and search out and “LIKE” Forest Ridge Funeral Home. Log-on to Facebook at 11am CT Aug 5th and watch Dale’s service live. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the United States Marine Corps Museum at www.marine heritage.org