J. Bridge Obituary

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- J. Gardiner Bridge, 95, known to friends and family as Gardiner, died Friday, Jan. 28, 2005, at Williamsburg Landing, in Williamsburg, Va., where he had lived for 15 years.

Born in Portland, Maine, Mr. Bridge attended Deering High School in Portland, Maine, as well as Hebron Academy and Exeter Academy. He graduated from Yale University in 1932. During the 1930s he taught Latin and algebra in the Southwest, eventually joined the management of a New York based ribbon manufacturer, and worked at the Chicago World's Fair in 1938.

In 1938 he married his childhood sweetheart, Sarah Tuttle Braman; they had been married for 61 years at the time of her death in 1999.

After the outbreak of World War II, Mr. Bridge first worked for the War Production Board of New England, managing production of plywood for Mosquito Bombers, then volunteered for active duty in army intelligence; he was posted to Algeria, and led two missions behind the lines in occupied France.

After the war, he and his growing family settled in Glens Falls. He bought Northeast Heating Supply Inc., building it over several decades into a successful business which he sold in 1990. In recent years, he has been a successful investor.

Mr. Bridge was an avid bridge player, an enthusiastic skier well into his eighties, and a world traveler, most recently accompanying his family in February 2004 to see the whale calving grounds and the prehistoric cave art of Baja, Calif. Over his long life, he hiked the Adirondacks extensively, and looked forward to an annual ski outing to Tuckerman's Ravine.

Mr. Bridge is survived by three children: Susan Bridge of Boston, Mass., James Bridge of Brunswick, Maine, and Thomas Bridge of Durango, Colo.; two grandchildren, James Bridge Jr., and Heather Bridge Hayes; and a great-grandchild, Caitlin Hayes.

A son, John Gardiner Bridge Jr., died in 1997.

A memorial service and interment will be held in Glens Falls in early summer.

Donations in Mr. Bridge's memory may be made to the World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th Street NW, Washington DC 20037, an organization that enjoyed his support for many years.