Julian Bridges, 91, was passionate yet compassionate with all

Julian Bridges' youngest daughter believes her father's name described him perfectly.

"I always thought God predestined my dad to have the last name Bridges because that's what he did all of his life," Marelyn Bridges Shedd said. "He built bridges between people and tried to meet people in the middle to where they would understand each other better.

"He saw value in every single person. He believed every single person was here because God had a purpose for them."

Bridges, a Hardin-Simmons University sociology professor and head of the social work department, served one term on the Abilene City Council, elected in 1982. He was mayor pro tempore in 1984.

He and then-Billye Proctor-Shaw were elected as Citizens for Better Government candidates the same year. She was the second woman elected to the council.

Bridges, who would've been 92 on Monday, died March 20. A celebration of his life is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at First Baptist Church.

He would speak up for others

"He was passionate about speaking up on matters that he felt were very important," said Shedd, who is Abilene president of First Financial Bank. "Especially for those he regarded as not having a voice, those who were downtrodden. Anyone who needed a little help.

"Sometimes, he didn't rub some people the right way with his views. But that didn't deter him. He just tried to follow what he thought was his conviction. He was a humble man. and he tried to present himself in the most gracious way possible."

She said her father worked hard when he was on the council, spending time researching issues.

"He would read and read and read," she said. Sometimes, she cringed when he wrote a guest opinion piece published in the Reporter-News.

An April 1985 story in the Reporter-News reflected on his time as a councilman. He believed his three years were worth it, he said.

"I think we're no listening to all our citizens who want to be heard," he said. "We cannot always make everyone happy, but I believe everyone should have an opportunity to understand their rights, and we should listen attentively to what they have to say."

Bridges was instrumental in setting up a tax increment district, parks improvements and backing police and firefighters.

He was disappointed that voters turned down a $50 million bond that included expanding the city's police station. The bond included other proposals, and he believed too many items went before voters at once.

Shedd and her father didn't always agree politically "but we honestly never let that stand in the way of our love for each other," she said.

"I sometimes had to explain that we didn't necessarily think alike," Shedd said, laughing. "But then, everyone has their own opinions."

On the same side, regarding family

Shedd said her father always was reaching out, even at a restaurant. He would make sure to know the name of their server.

"Little things like that so they felt like they were seen and not invisible," she said.

But, she said, with a laugh, her father could be stubborn. He would stick with his principles.

He certainly stuck with his wife. Or, she with him.

"Such a great example of a partnership," Shedd said. Their marriage centered on their faith and they went where led.

"My mother probably went a lot of places that she probably wouldn't have wanted to go," she said. But they were a team. "In the end, she was so glad they went together and sharing the Lord with other people.

"They were truly called."

Her sister Becky went into social work and was most like-minded to her father. The other two daughters had other callings.

"But we all have some of him in us naturally," Shedd said. "I wish I had more of his passion. He was so passionate about helping people."

Becky went into the same field as her father and Debbie used her Spanish to teach bi-lingual ed. The family lived for a time in Mexico.

Shedd called her father an encourager. For her, that came when she decided to go to Baylor to study, not sociology, but fashion merchandising. Her sisters had gone to HSU when Bridges taught there.

But he was OK with that. She eventually studied finance in Waco. He was OK with that, too.

"He thought it was a ploy the entire time," she joked.

His life

Bridges was born April 3, 1931, in Miami, Florida. He was a graduate of the University of Florida, a member of the Baptist Student Union there.

He came to Texas to attend Southwestern Baptist Theology Seminary in Fort Worth. There, he met Charlotte Martin, and they married in 1954. He earned a Th.D. in 1958.

Bridges obtained a doctorate in sociology from his alma mater in Florida while on furlough in 1968.

The Bridgeses were wed for 68 years, sharing in a love of the ministry. After his graduation from the seminary, they were appointed as missionaries. Through the years, they went to Costa Rica, Spain, Hong Kong and Tanzania.

The young family then moved to Mexico City, where he oversaw two Baptist student centers and the couple served First Baptist Church. They started a smaller church that served poorer families.

They stayed until 1973, when he took a job as sociology professor at Hardin-Simmons. There, he was a faculty sponsor of the service club Alpha Phi Omega and the campus United Mexican American Students organization.

He retired in 2004 and was named Professor Emeritus of Sociology.

Bridges was a Rotarian and held several leadership positions. He wrote six books, three in Spanish. Using his Spanish, he served as a translator for non-English-speaking defendants and inmates in the court system.

He was a First Baptist Church member here and worked with its City Light Ministries. He once was interim pastor at Southside Baptist.

"He was a person of deep conviction. But he willing to look at something and change," said Phil Christopher, retired pastor of First Baptist. Christopher credited Bridges, whom he called an encourager, with pouring the foundation of mission work that inspired City Light and now its expansion through the church's Hope Center project.

"Julian represents the DNA of our missions. And Charlotte. Even so much of what we're doing with the Hope Center, those roots go back to him. It wasn't something we came up with, it was something that was in his heart."

Christopher considered where Bridges has gone.

"He always considered Spanish as the language of heaven," Christopher said. "When I heard that he had passed, I thought, 'he is speaking the language of heaven. I don't care what specific language, Julian will be fluent in the language of grace and love."

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Julian Bridges, 91, was passionate yet compassionate with all