Several things about this obituary are a bit odd. For starters, Mrs. Riddels did have a name- it was Ella T. The census (both 1910 and 1920) shows her birthplace as Tennessee, not Kentucky. And by the way, Roy senior was born in Arkansas and his occupation was cattle/hog trader-stockman. The 1920 census lists them in Oklahoma City, not Caddo. However, they may have been there for some sort of treatment for Mrs. Riddels, and then returned. That’s an assumption on my part, but one that has been mentioned in other obituaries. Patients often went to other climates or to other medical facilities in search of a cure. Johnnie, 24, lived with them in a rented house.
An interesting note: Mr. Riddels wrote a book, “Early Days in Texas” in 1935 and I am trying to locate a copy. Mr. Riddels died in 1936 and is also buried in the Caddo cemetery.
The Caddo Herald
August 20, 1926
Mrs. R. A. Riddels Dies
At the family home in Caddo Friday afternoon at 6 o’clock Mrs. R. A. Riddels died.
The funeral was held in the Presbyterian Church Saturday afternoon at 5 o’clock conducted by Rev. E. Hotchkin, burial in Caddo Cemetery.
Mrs. Riddels is survived by her husband, R. A. Riddels and son Roy Riddels and daughter Miss Johnnie Riddels. She was 66 years of age, a member of the Presbyterian Church, and sincerely loved by all who knew her for her many lovely traits of character.
Mrs. Riddels had lived in Caddo the past twenty-six years. She was born in Kentucky and lived the first years of her married life in Ellis County, Texas.
Together with her family she lived her remaining years in Caddo. She was a kind wife, a loving mother, a good neighbor, and consistent flower of her Savior. She has suffered patiently many years with a malady that was painful and every effort had been made to give relief. Until a few hours before death put an end to her suffering she was not thought to be dangerously ill.
Friends and neighbors were profuse in every ministration, and the large attendance at her funeral, the profound grief that the news of her death brought, with the numerous floral offerings attested to the esteem in which Mrs. Riddels was held by all.
She left a sweet memory and an assurance that a reunion sometime will be held where sickness, pain, and sorrow are unknown.
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