Thomas Franklin Bridges
October 6, 1938 ~ April 16, 2014
Resided in:
Asheville, NC
Thomas Franklin Bridges passed away on April 16, 2014, after a brave battle with cancer. Tom was born in Muncie, IN on October 6, 1938. He was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Lois Bridges, and his brother Don Bridges.
Tom is survived by his wife of 50 years, Mary Elizabeth (Mary Beth) Stokes Bridges of Asheville, NC; his son, Kenton Stokes Bridges, and two grandchildren, Mary-Chandler Stokes Bridges and Christopher Stokes Bridges, all of Asheville, NC; brother-in-law, Richard Houser Stokes, and wife Jane, of Raleigh, NC; sister-in-law, Suzanne Stokes Reiss, of Alpharetta, GA; sister-in-law, Kathryn Sykes Bridges, of Decatur, GA; nieces, Jennifer Reed Stokes, of Winston-Salem, NC, Mary Stokes Reiss, of New York, NY, Alexandra Elizabeth Reiss, of Dallas, GA, Christine Van Horn, of Atlanta, GA, and Rebecca Elizabeth Young, of Tucker, GA; and nephew, David William Bridges, of Cincinnati, OH.
Tom was a graduate of the University of Florida School of Architecture, where he was president of the Gargoyle Honor Society, an AIA Silver Medal recipient, and a member of Phi Gamma Delta. He served as an officer in the United States Navy. He retired after 45 years practicing architecture and construction contract administration in Florida and North Carolina. He is the past president of the Asheville chapter of the AIA and past president of the Chapel Hill Jr. Chamber of Commerce. He was also an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and was a member of the Rotary Club of Asheville.
Tom was active in church as a deacon, Sunday school teacher, and youth leader. He was a member of New Morgan Hill Baptist Church.
Tom was a loving and kind husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend, who devoted his life to serving God and taking care of others. He lived a life of complete integrity, daily exhibiting a character of humility and compassion. He will be mourned and missed by those who knew him.
A memorial service will be held on Monday at 1:00 pm in the chapel of Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian. The family will receive friends following the service. A private family service will be conducted at the family cemetery in Rockingham County, NC, at a later date.
Memorials can be made to the John F. Keever, Jr. Solace Center, PO Box 25338, Asheville, NC 28813.
View current weather.
Memories Timeline
Guestbook
Sign the Guestbook, Light a Candle
To the Bridges family,
I wish to express my deepest sympathy to your family for the loss of Mr. Bridges. Of course there is no age that we would want to have say goodbye to those we love. That is because the Bible says of God: ‘… He has put eternity into their (mankind’s) heart. ‘- Ecclesiastes 3:11. Death is a fearsome enemy, and no matter how much we try, we c cannot escape its awful ‘sting’.- Hosea 13:14. God promises that there will be victory over death. The Bible repeatedly speaks of the elimination of death and God’s promise of everlasting life. – Isaiah 25:8; Titus 1:2.
The enclosed tract entitled: ‘Can the dead really live again? ‘ answers that question and what the resurrection will mean for us in the near future. For more information please visit: http://www.jw.org.
Again my deepest sympathy,