Abstract
Dr Charles Hubert Bridges was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on February 23, 1921, and he passed away on January 12, 2012, in Bryan, Texas, at the age of 90. During his early life, he lived in Webster, Texas, and he graduated from Jasper High School in Texas. In 1942, Dr Bridges was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant (inactive), Medical I Administration, in the US Army, and served as a private in the US Army from May 1943 until May 1944. He then attended Texas A&M University (TAMU) and graduated in 1945 with a doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) degree. He practiced veterinary medicine in a mixed animal practice in Brenham, Texas, for over 4 years, and then, in 1949, he left his practice to attend Louisiana State University to complete his master of science degree in veterinary microbiology. In 1951, he was recalled into military service as the base veterinarian at Edwards Air Force Base, California. He was a captain in the United States Air Force Veterinary Service from 1951 until 1953, and he subsequently retired as a major, USAF Reserve Biomedical Sciences Corps, in 1968. In 1954, Dr Bridges returned to TAMU to continue his graduate work under Professor Hilton A. Smith. He also studied at the Walter Reed Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Dr Bridges was certified by examination as a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in 1956, and in 1957, he graduated from TAMU with a doctor of philosophy degree in veterinary pathology.
Dr Bridges was professor and head of the Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, at TAMU from 1960 to 1978. He retired as professor emeritus from TAMU and the Texas A&M Experiment Station in 1986. He was also an adjunct professor of pathology at Baylor University, College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, from 1978 to 1995, and professor of comparative pathology, Institute of Comparative Medicine, at TAMU from 1976 to 1979. Professor Bridges was past president of the ACVP and a member of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, and the International Academy of Pathology (emeritus). He was a member of Phi Zeta Eta, Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, and Gamma Sigma Delta. He was a Morris Animal Foundation fellow. Dr Bridges was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Texas A&M Association of Former Students, the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, and he was also a member of the American Legion, Buddy Wright Post 48, in Brenham, Texas.
Professor Bridges’s research interests included mycotic diseases, neuropathology, toxicologic pathology, and inherited diseases of animals. He and his wife established the Charles H. and Mildred Kruse Bridges Endowed Chair in Veterinary Medical Education for the TAMU College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. Dr Bridges received numerous awards for his work, including the Charles L. Davis Foundation Harold W. Casey Award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching of Veterinary Pathology in 1998, TAMU College of Veterinary Medicine Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1994, and the Peter Olafson Medal, Cornell University, for teaching, service, and research in 1994.
Dr Bridges and his wife, Mildred, along with her siblings, made many philanthropic contributions to Kruse Village in Brenham, Texas, and they established an Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology at the Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas. They were active members of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in College Station for the last 54 years and sponsored internships during the last 10 years. Charles loved and mentored his children and grandchildren with great affection and instilled in all of them a love of inquisitiveness and curiosity, fly-fishing, and the love and respect for the outdoors. He continually reminded his grandchildren that “nothing is impossible if you put in the work.”
Dr Bridges was an eternal student and a life-long learner, while at the same time, he created a legacy of academic researchers, teachers, and anatomic pathologists throughout his career. He likewise mentored his veterinary medical students, residents in anatomic pathology, and graduate students, and he inculcated in them the quest for truth through science as they learned to appreciate his rigorous and often challenging standards of approaching a scientific problem. Dr Bridges found great delight in solving problems, and his investigation of toxic plants and heavy metal toxicity benefited many in the farming and ranching communities throughout the United States, preserving their livelihood and economic base.
He left a lasting legacy to his children with his work in genealogical research and the investigation of their family history. Charles was preceded in death by his parents, Charles M. and Mary Bridges, and his father- and mother-in-law, E. F. and Bertha Kruse. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Mildred Kruse Bridges, and his children, Dr Charmille Tamulinas and her husband, Stacey, of Katy, Texas, and Circle Pines, Minnesota; Dr Gary W. Bridges and his wife, Kathy, of Plano, Texas; Greg A. Bridges and his wife, Donna, of Brenham, Texas; his grandchildren, Madison, Eric, and Katerina; and his brothers- and sisters-in-law, Ed and Evelyn Kruse, Howard and Verlin Kruse, and Evelyn Ann Kruse, all of Brenham, Texas.