Larry Alldredge

Larry Alldredge

September 8, 1960-November30, 2014

Larry Alldredge was born into this life on September 8, 1960, and passed away on November 30, 2014, to be with the Lord. Many friends knew him as "Smiley", because his smile would light up the room and he was ALWAYS smiling! Larry's is truly an American success story. He was raised along with his 5 sisters by a mostly single mom in the Elyton area of Birmingham. He learned to play chess at the local Boy's Club at a young age and later said it helped him plan for the future in much the way he planned his chess moves. That's why he opted for Glenn Vocational School where he studied auto mechanics. At age 18, Larry took his first full time job sweeping the service bays at Crown Automobile's Mercedes dealership. After several weeks of floor sweeping, Larry was asked if he could fill in and perform oil changes for a mechanic who was on vacation. Larry quickly agreed and he never swept the floors again, as he was now officially a mechanic, and over the next several years he took every opportunity to attend schools and clinics for servicing Mercedes automobiles and trucks. By the time Larry celebrated his 29th birthday he was the Service Manager at Crown. Over the next 25 years he would supervise hundreds of employees while WINNING awards within the industry too numerous to count and making many friends of the customers he serviced. At the time of his death he maintained the position of Parts and Service Director at Mercedes-Benz of Birmingham which recently acquired Crown Automobile. Larry was passionate about his family, friends and Alabama football, but his greatest love was for his daughter, Angela. He made certain that Angela received the college education that had been beyond his grasp. Likewise, Larry was more than a brother to his five sisters and a son to his mother---he was a friend who could be counted upon. Above all else, Larry was proud of his family's roots and he was always there for them at a moment's notice. Larry leaves a host of friends who mourn his passing. Among them are the members of American Legion Post #171, where he is a past member of the Post's Executive Committee and Past Commander of the Post's Sons of the American Legion (SAL). There will be a memorial service for Larry at the Post on Sunday, December 7, at 2:00 p.m. In the last few years of his life Larry developed a passion for fly fishing and spent many happy hours fly fishing with his best friend, Jeff Baggett. Jeff and Larry were the brothers to each other that neither had growing up. Besides his daughter, Angela O'Neil, Larry is survived by his mother, Frances Brown; his sisters, Linda Connell (Jim), Debbie Abrasley (George), Pam Hopkins (Rick), Sherry Meeks (Jeff), Tina Lambert (Ronnie Swindle); and many nieces and nephews. Visitation will be on Tuesday, December 2, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home and Gardens with the funeral service in the Chapel at Jefferson Memorial on Wednesday, December 3, at 11:00 a.m. There will be a graveside service at the Ladodicea Freewill Baptist Church Cemetery, I-65 at Exit 291 (Hanceville/Colony Exit) at 2:00 p.m. Rev. Rick Hopkins and Rev. Rick Hopkins, II will conduct the services.