Warren E. Bridges

Warren E. Bridges was born on December 28th, 1933, to Prentiss and Gertha Bridges in the deep southern city of Greenville, Mississippi. How such a strong, kind, and gentle soul emerged from the brutality of that time is a testament to his resilience and his character. His childhood adventures included chasing down a cotton mouth snake, getting shot at for swimming in a pond he was not welcome to use, riding horses on his Uncle Son’s farm in Arkansas, and picking cotton for a dollar a day from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. There were also moments of simple joy, like going to the movies with friends for a nickel. In his teen years, Warren and his brother Ray were unstoppable on the basketball court. The stories of the rivalry between Sacred Heart high school and Coleman High were legendary.

As a young adult, he studied Electrical Engineering at Tuskegee. His studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the army where he became a sharpshooter. After basic training, draftees could not choose their assignments but were placed where the Army’s needs were greatest. Recognizing his educational background, an Army superior selected him for training as a NIKE missile radar operator. After receiving an honorable discharge, he studied at the University of Detroit and earned a BA in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. In the early 1960s, Warren had the opportunity to program some of the earliest computers, which were built with vacuum tubes and filled entire rooms. By 2018, he had witnessed an extraordinary transformation: the 7,000-pound machines he once worked on could now fit on a wrist and were a million times more powerful.

In 1952 Warren met the love of his life, Marcella Nan Bridges. The city girl from Toledo, Ohio had come down south with her best friend Dolores (Barber) Bridges for a visit. After being introduced, Warren later said to Dolores with awe and sincerity in his voice: “She is the nicest girl I ever met.” They became husband and wife for nearly sixty wonderful years until her passing in February 2021. He was a member of Saint Peter Claver Catholic Community and was active in the church through his involvement with the Knights of Saint Peter Claver, Court 299.

In those 60 years, they had five children for whom Warren was a very active and supportive father. The same tenor voice that sang in the choir sang his children to sleep at bedtime. Each winter, he braved subzero temperatures to build a huge ice-skating rink in the backyard for his kids and for the neighborhood kids to enjoy. He instilled in his children a strong work ethic by bringing them along on paper drives where they carried heavy bags of newspapers out of basements, stacking them high enough to fill a semi-truck. He had them raking leaves and picking up trash on the fields by their house and by the church. Later he threw what he called a “cement party” and had his children help him re-pave the driveway. The work was hard, but somehow, he made it fun. Warren supported his children in all their endeavors. Whether it was band, basketball, boy scouts, track, or algebra, he was always there to help.

In his later years, he modeled that helping behavior by retiring early so that he could care for his mother who developed Alzheimer’s. After his mother passed, he then cared for his mother-in-law until she passed at the age of 89. When Warren developed Alzheimer’s himself, the disease did not diminish his resilience or character one bit. Even when he lost the ability to speak, his emotional strength, kindness, and caring demeanor continued to shine through.

Some say that “love” is an action word. Warren E. Bridges was love in action -- a man of doing. His legacy lives on in the lessons he taught by being a man of deeds.

To honor and fondly remember a life well-lived, he leaves five children: Gregory Bridges, Catherine Johnson (Allen), Michael M. Bridges (Renita), Mary Radford (DaMon), and Marie Rusher (Raymond). To help carry his legacy of love, strength, and resilience into the future, he leaves eleven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren who delighted him to no end starting with Kalonji Johnson, Moeisha Marcum (Craig), Nzinga Johnson, Taharqa Johnson, Marcus Radford, Breezy Rusher, Isolyn Radford, Danielle Radford, Madison Bridges, Michael W. Bridges, James Rusher, Zaiden Marcum, Ari’elle Marcum, Armoniee Brunson, and Zyon Marcum. Adding to the collective memory of his life are his sister-in-law, Dolores Bridges, along with his nieces and nephews, Tom Bridges (Lisa), Ka’Ran Bridges, Mark Bridges, Jocelyn Broemmelsiek and Audrianne Bridges-Skipper (Reuben).

In lieu of Flowers the family would like you to consider donating to the Alzheimer's Association in honor of our dad.