It is with sadness that we report the death of former member Tom Bridges.
Thomas Albert "Tom" Bridges, 74, of Carrollton, Georgia and formally of Newnan, Georgia died unexpectedly on April 24, 2020 at Atlanta Medical Center. Tom was born June 29, 1945 in Newnan, Georgia to Stanford and Olive Garner Bridges and grew up in the small community of Welcome in western Coweta county where he graduated in 1963 from Western High School. After attending Auburn University then West Georgia College, now University of West Georgia (UWG), he entered the Georgia National Guard serving for many years. Tom became a passionate fan of West Georgia College athletics in 1980 and it became his passion in life attending every home and away football game for close to 40 years.
He was president of the football booster club for several years, a member of the Hall of Fame Committee, and was later named President Emeritus of the booster club. His passion for West Georgia was unmatched and will be missed by his group of longtime friends, "the boys", that tailgated together and enjoyed many good times regardless of the outcome of the games or the truth of the tall tales spun on Saturday afternoons.
Tom also helped stoke the rivalry with Valdosta State University with the creation of the "Battle for the Peach Basket" with the winner of the game taking the peach basket along with bragging rights for the year. Tom was a devoted father, grandfather, son, brother and friend that was known for his quick wit and his knowledge of "useless information" as he would like to say. He always had a funny story that would entertain anyone even if they had heard the story many times before. He was never afraid to share his opinion, especially to Gulf South Conference Referees.Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Kenny. He is survived by his son Ben and daughter-in-law Marjorie of Charlotte, North Carolina, granddaughters Garner and Wallace who loved their "BB" very much, his sisters Cheryl (Doug) Sheppard and Nancy Johnson both of Newnan, Georgia. The family would like to express gratitude to those who have provided him with care and support in recent years particularly his companion or "Lady Friend" Peggy Grubbs and his kind neighbor Dee and her family.
Because of current restrictions with COVID-19 there are no immediate plans for a celebration of his life but there will be an informal service planned for a future date, hopefully before a UWG game as that is where he will be in spirit. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the University of West Georgia Athletic Foundation at www.giving.westga.edu .
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Condolences can be expressed online at www.mckoon.com
McKoon Funeral Home & Crematory (770) 253-4580