Obituary of James Bridwell

James Benjamin Bridwell was born September 2, 1931 in Tulsa, OK to Chalon Elmis and Mary Catherine (Brunson) Bridwell and passed from this life on May 21, 2011 in Tulsa, OK. He was known as Ben to just about everyone he knew, with the exception of me the writer. For me, he was just Dad. As a man who loved to drive a car he took the exit ramp from this life just one week after his wife of 56 years, Peggy Valeria (Cowan) Bridwell passed away on May 14, 2011. They accomplished what many only dream of - they lived and left this life together. Dad would have been 80 years old in September. He sold life insurance for Metropolitan Life. He was good at what he did. His passion in his later years was helping my mother in her gardens, building models, and driving my mother nuts. Yes, he was VERY good at what he did! Growing up in my pre teen and teen years was rough because my dad was also an alcoholic. It wasn't until I left home that he decided to join Alcoholics Anonymous. He stayed off the bottle since then. He was not ashamed to say he was an alcoholic but none the less he felt guilty about missing out on my sister's and my growing up years. As an adult I always responded to his bemoaning by reminding him of all of the other alcoholics that he helped and carry through the tough times in their own lives. It is this part of my father's life that I am the most proud of. Strangely, it is things that my dad said that stick in my mind. I not only remember them but have actively passed them on to my once young children. No they are not words of wisdom nor words you would expect from a University Of Tulsa graduate as he was; but they are words to live by: "That will put hair on your chest" or how about "That will put led in your pencil". He was also fond of asking my sister and I to - "Pull my finger". She and I loved that one! And who can forget some of his favorite musical bands such as: 'Billy Banana and His Bunch - the music with a peal' or 'Nick Nasal and his Nine Nasty Nose Pickers playing I'll Be Glad When Your Dead You Bugger You - now pick it out there Tex'. As Bob Hope (one of his favorite comedians) would say and I would concur to my dad, "Thanks for the memories". And then there were those moments that I or anyone else present could not forget. Times, like so many of his generation - where entertainment was getting the family together to view a projector slide show of my parent's latest journey to one of our nation's many national parks. All I can say is that my dad (and my mother) loved rocks! Or how about the time at my sisters wedding rehearsal dinner where he recited to the group a current Far Side comic strip involving buzzards. He laughed himself silly and us as well - especially after the twentieth time he re-enacted it. Thanks dad for the many - and I mean many great laughs and excellent photos of rocks! The passing of married couples in a very short span of time between one another is not unique but it is not common either. For me, it brings a smile on my face because it completes their 'one of a kind' union together. While cleaning my parent's home, Sandy ran across a photo of my parents sitting around a table with friends. It was taken after they were married during the time my dad was proudly serving in the United States Air Force and my mother was a nurse in the Navel Hospital on the island of Guam. They were so young. That is a part of their lives I do not know. But it was that part of their lives (their union) that I became part of the rest of their story. Of course we will all meet our maker one day. For my father he was preceded in death by his parents; his wife; his daughter, Dorothy Ann Bridwell; his brother, Perry Bridwell and his half sister Mary Jane James. Those whom in time will meet up with him are me and Sandy his daughter-in-law; his brother and sister-in-law, Richard & Judy Bridwell; his son-in-law, Robert Hallman; and his grandchildren, Kyle Bridwell, Erin Bridwell and Laura Hallman. A combined CELEBRATION for Ben and Peggy will be held on Friday, June 17 at 2:00PM at Ninde Brookside Funeral Home. If you plan to join us we hope you will consider sharing with everyone a moment that either of them (or both) touched you; profound or funny. Just like in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, you may remain anonymous to everyone; but you won't be able to stop the feeling of compassion and friendship from all of the soles present. My entire life has been spent in the theatre in one capacity or another. In the tradition of the theatre there is an element (a ritual so to speak) that the public never sees. It is reserved for those who have made the theatre their life. So to my parents, who would understand, I say - "See you at the theatre - the ghost light is always on." Profoundly Remembered And Loved By His Son Matthew Wayne Bridwell