LESTER M. BRIDGEMAN

LESTER M. BRIDGEMAN  
Lester M. Bridgeman, 90, died suddenly on March 6, 2014 after a full day at work and a good dinner. A native of Paterson, NJ, he grew up in Brooklyn and was a long-time resident of Alexandria. After briefly studying forestry at Syracuse, Bridgeman joined the Army in 1943, attending (and playing football for) LSU. He volunteered for combat duty and was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. He graduated Cum Laude from Syracuse's College of Arts & Sciences '48 and from Columbia Law School '51. Bridgeman worked for the Civil Aeronautics Board and then taught at the University of Chicago Law School. He returned to private practice in Washington, DC, and opened his own office in 1963, practicing plaintiff's antitrust law and commercial litigation, focusing on motor carriers and foreign airlines. In the mid-80's, he affiliated with a firm in Mobile, AL and later relocated there. In 2001, he negotiated on behalf of a Russian client with the federal government and Lockheed Martin to arrange the return of the wreckage of a Navy EP reconnaissance aircraft the Chinese had forced down on Hainan Island. A gifted raconteur with wide-ranging interests, Bridgeman enjoyed opera, the bagpipes, conversation, poetry, vodka martinis, history, justice, and sailing. He studied French, German, Polish and Spanish, and bought his first TV to take Russian lessons. Bridgeman was the most frequently published and politically progressive writer of letters to the editor of the Mobile Press Register. He published articles on antitrust law, and once cited Dr. Seuss in a brief. Bridgeman's marriages to Clydine Mayhall and Linda High ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 23 years, Ann Booker Bridgeman, daughters from his first marriage, Andrea Bridgeman (Steve Parker) of McLean and Judith Rolland (Jean-Hugues) of Paris, and granddaughter Hallie M. Parker of Brooklyn. A memorial service was held at the Spring Hill Avenue Temple in Mobile. Please direct contributions in his name to Writers in Schools (DC) via PEN/Faulkner or NetworkForGood.org.