Dr. Clarence Bridger Obituary

Clarence Edgerton Bridger, M.DDr. Clarence Bridger, 90, of Albany, died, November 23, 2010.The funeral service will be held Friday at 2:00 PM. at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church with the internment to follow immediately at Crown Hill Cemetery. The Reverend Jay Weldon will officiate. The family will receive friends at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church of Friday from 12:30 PM till the funeral hour.Dr. Bridger was born in Kenly, North Carolina, on September 19, 1920. He was the son of Miller Clarence Bridger Sr. and Annie Edgerton Bridger.Dr. Bridger graduated from Bladenboro High School in 1938. He met his wife, the former Mary Snipes of Woodland, NC, when she was a student at Meredith College, in Raleigh, NC. They married in 1942. In the same year, he received his Bachelor of Science from Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC. He earned his medical degree from Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University in 1946. Following medical school, he served in the U.S. Army Medical Corp as a Captain.Dr. Bridger established a general medical practice in his hometown of Bladenboro, NC in1949. In 1954, he returned to The Bowman Gray School of Medicine to specialize inClinical and Anatomical Pathology. In 1958, he moved his family to Albany, Georgiawhere he remained as Chief Pathologist and Director of Laboratories at Phoebe PutneyMemorial Hospital until his retirement in 1986.Over his 28 years with the hospital, Dr. Bridger established one of the first accredited American Association of Blood Banks in Georgia. He was The Dougherty County Medical Examiner, the consulting Pathologist for The Georgia Crime Laboratory, and he directed continued education programs for Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital's physicians.Dr. Bridger was a member of the following professional organizations: The AmericanMedical Association, The Medical Association of Georgia, The Dougherty CountyMedical Society, The College of American Pathology, The American Association ofClinical Pathology, and The Georgia Association of Pathology. In addition, he served aspast president of The Dougherty County Medical Society and The Bladen CountyMedical Society, Bladenboro, NC.Dr. Bridger was a pilot and a sports car enthusiast. He loved bird hunting and helped to form The Albany Skeet and Trap Club. Later, his hobbies included the restoration of antique cars and furniture. He also enjoyed a special interest in clockworks.He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Mary S. Bridger of Albany; their six children: Elizabeth Ann (Becky) Geer of Atlanta, Mary Angel Whiteman and husband Larry of Atlanta, Joy Belinda Wise and husband Guerry of Atlanta, Miller Clarence Bridger III and wife Betsy of Albany, Harry John Bridger and wife Tracey of Atlanta, Kenneth Lock Bridger of Albany, and thirteen grandchildren, and five great-grand children.

Dr. Clarence Bridger Obituary

August 19, 1920 - November 23, 2010