Kriti Mehrotra
Netflix’s ‘DeMarcus Family Rules’ is a light-hearted and goofy reality TV series that follows Jay DeMarcus (bassist of Rascal Flatts) and his wife, Allison DeMarcus (former beauty queen) as they schedule their lives around their kids and careers, and make rules along the way to balance it all perfectly. In saying that, however, some moments in it do go a step further to touch our hearts, and that is mostly when the family is talking about the demise of Allison’s father, Robert Alderson.
Both of Robert’s sons-in-law, Jay DeMarcus and James Otto, were just as charmed by him as the rest of the family. They believe with all their hearts that Robert was truly the only one who could help the family during hard times and make the members see logic when no one else could. They both agreed that there has been a void ever since his passing and that they have huge shoes to fill. Jay even went one step further to call Robert a true patriarch.
Who Was Robert Alderson?
Robert Alderson was born in Jackson, Tennessee to Edwin “Ed” Alderson and Narcie Dennison Alderson. His middle name is the same as his father’s first name. After graduating from Jackson High School in 1964, Robert went on to Union University on baseball and golf scholarships to earn his Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business. While he was there, he was the President of the U club and the Sports Information Director. At his graduation ceremony in 1968, along with his degree, he also received the Economic Award, the university’s top economic honor, for his excellence.
Following that, Robert enlisted in the United States Army and got ready to serve his country. He became a First Lieutenant in the Adjutant General Corps and also served in Vietnam as an advisor. For his services, he received two Air Medals, the Bronze Star, and the Vietnamese Service Medal. When he returned in 1970, Robert got married to the love of his life, Jane Matthews Alderson, at First Baptist Church in Bemis, Jackson. Together, the couple had a good life for almost 47 years. They got to see their daughters, Amy and Allison, get married to two wonderful men. And, they also saw the birth of all of their grandkids: Ava Otto, Madeline DeMarcus, and Dylan DeMarcus.
Robert also went to The University of Tennessee Law School, from where he graduated in 1974. He clerked for a senator and then went to a private company where he practiced law till 1986. After that, he joined a retail organization and worked there to expand its business and further his own career until his retirement in 2015. Just like his wife, he contributed to the community as well, serving as a board member for various organizations that benefited the community as a whole.
How Did Robert Alderson Die?
On November 22, 2016, at the age of 70, Robert passed away quite suddenly due to extremely rare complications from endocarditis, which is an infection that occurs in the inner lining of the heart chambers and heart valves. It basically means that the lining gets inflamed and there is a risk of damage to the valves. It rarely happens that this bacterial infection can take someone’s life away, but it does happen. And, unfortunately, it fell on Robert. The only silver lining is that he was under professional care at the time, at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and that his family was there with him. (Featured Image Credit: Jane Alderson / Instagram)
Read More: Where Are Jay and Allison DeMarcus Now?
