Tom and Marye Kate Aldridge came to Oklahoma as newlyweds in 1927 with all their worldly goods strapped to the back of a Model T Ford. Tom went to work for the C.R. Anthony Company retail chain as a store manager and rose to vice president, while Marye Kate was a teacher.
In 1979, the couple established a fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to support causes they cared about including Oklahoma Goodwill Industries and the Donna Nigh Foundation. Marye Kate died in 1994 and Tom in 1995, but their charitable legacy lives on.