Lynda Kay Bridges

Lynda Kay Bridges, 87, passed away suddenly February 8, 2025, in her favorite place, the home she shared with her late husband Lamar Bridges, surrounded by many books, her cats, and her only child, Lauri. It was the perfect ending to a well lived life, filled with travel, a 30-year career in education and library science, loving and long-lasting relationships with friends and family members (humans and feline), the adoration and exasperation of her husband, and her cherished relationship with her church. Born in San Angelo, Texas, Lynda Parsons hated her red hair, her freckles and being taller than all the boys in her class! She played basketball, was a good student and a loving daughter, and her two younger brothers just had to be tolerated until they grew up a little bit. She was Salutatorian of her graduating class in Water Valley, Texas, and the family drove on gravel roads all the way up through New Mexico to cooler Colorado every summer for fly fishing. These trips left a lasting impression on Lynda, and for the rest of her life she loved the Southwest and supported Native American educational and cultural organizations. She then studied and graduated from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, earning her teaching certification. One of her first teaching jobs was to blind students, but she eventually ended up teaching in Odessa, Texas. There she met a good-looking East Texas teacher at a volleyball game, and he actually dared to call her “Red.” He luckily survived that incident, and the two married in June, 1960. She and Lamar expanded their horizons, travelling to Europe in 1966, the first of hundreds of trips large and small they took together. In 1967, they adopted a little 3-week-old girl they named Lauri. They then proceeded to drag her to every Civil and Revolutionary war battle site until she escaped at age 18. Lynda and Lamar eventually made their way to Forrest City, Arkansas, where he was one of the founding educators of East Arkansas Community College and she taught elementary school. Later, she found her true calling as an elementary school librarian and got her second master’s degree in library science. She made her library spaces a place of wonder for young children. You never knew what would be on display to go along with a particular theme of books – fossils and armadillo shells, tropical corals, longhorn antlers, a pair of rams horns, a dried hornets nest – anything she could find to spark the imagination of a child. Christmas time was the piece de resistance, with dozens of snowmen of varying sizes and shapes and textures lining the walls along with the books. Even after retirement, Lynda helped other school librarians decorate their libraries and read aloud to the children, loathe to give up such a life-long and rewarding passion. She and Lamar spent their retirement traveling all over the United States and Europe, often with their best friends, the late Ray and Carolyn Karrer of Paris, Texas. She was a proud and utterly devoted member of the First United Methodist Church of Forrest City, Arkansas, as well as United Women in Faith, where her skills as the most detailed minute-taker and parliamentarian were legendary. She was also a proud member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society and the Democratic Party. Lynda was famous for the pickiness of her palate. Scrambled eggs were to be avoided at all costs, but quiche was fantastic. Onions were disgusting, but onion soufflé was divine. For 61 years, her husband and personal chef absorbed every comment and review without complaint, which explained how he achieved sainthood upon his death in 2021. Her daughter, caregivers, and other family members scrambled for the remaining three years of her life trying to measure up to Lamar’s prowess, failing more often than not. Lynda was also known for her prolific notes and instructions. If you were a houseguest, you didn’t have to wonder which towel was yours because there would be a note pinned to it that told you. Archaeologists will be able to use her Christmas decorations after they dig them up in hundreds of years because not only will they know where to place every red bow with each loop stuffed with tissue paper, they’ll know where and when she bought it. Her daughter likened Christmas decorating with Lynda to a NASA Space Launch, not for the faint of heart. All of Lynda’s idiosyncratic tendencies were overlooked due to her unending well of kindness and empathy for all beings whether they were of the animal or human kind. She is survived by her dear cousin and husband Carolyn and Neal Gregory of Arlington, Texas, her nephew Clayton Karrer and his wife Cynthia of Paris, Texas, her brother David Parsons of San Angelo, Texas, and finally, by her only daughter Lauri, who wishes like anything that she could get yelled at to sort the recycling in the proper bins just one more time. A memorial service will be held on February 15 at First United Methodist Church in Forrest City, Arkansas, at 11 a.m. with a reception immediately following. Lauri requests that in lieu of flowers or another houseplant she will certainly kill, memorials please be made to one of her Mother’s beloved charities: First United Methodist Church of Forrest City, The Saint Labre Indian School, Peaceful Donkey Valley Rescue in San Angelo, Texas, or Heifer International. Visit online guest book at stevensfuneralhome.net.

Tributes

Lynda Kay Bridges

July 2, 1937 - February 8, 2025