Ramona Faye Bridges, 90, went to meet her Savior on Sunday, November 27, 2022 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Ramona was born May 27, 1932 in Maness, now Barling, Arkansas, to Hurshal and Reba (Bugg) Mackey. She was the middle of three daughters in her family. She was raised on her family dairy farm in the Rye Hill area of Fort Smith and had a love-filled childhood.
When Ramona was nineteen, she married Bill Bridges of Bonanza. They had one son, John Steven “Steve” Bridges and one daughter, Janet Lynn “Jan” (Bridges) Shoptaw. Ramona and Bill raised their children in Fort Smith and Greenwood.
She was an English teacher at Greenwood schools, and later worked for many years at the Fort Smith TV Cable Company. She and Bill retired and spent many happy years in their home in Rye Hill. Ramona was a long time member of Rye Hill Baptist Church and later, Living Faith Missionary Baptist Church. She was a member of the Eastern Star and was a graduate of the Fort Smith Junior College and a member of their student board while attending.
Ramona is remembered for her love of her family, cooking meals for family gatherings, singing in her church choir, and many treasured adventures and activities with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved to read, listen to “good” music, drink coffee, play cards, fit large jigsaw puzzles with her grandkids and visit with her family and friends. She was a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who was full of wisdom, faith and love. She was lively, witty, cursed in “fiddlesticks” and took a pragmatic, no-nonsense view of life.
Mrs. Bridges was preceded in death by her parents, Hurshal and Reba Mackey, her husband, Bill Bridges and her daughter, Jan Shoptaw all of Fort Smith. She is survived by her son, Steve Bridges and wife, Myra of Fort Smith; sisters, Norma Gibbs of Austin, Texas and Rohena Caperton of Fort Smith; grandchildren, Ivy and Chris Howard of Bella Vista, Story and Brian Rush, Clay Davis, Josh and Misty Davis all of Greenwood, Chelsea and Jesse Maierhoffer of Van Buren and great-grandchildren, Rowdy Rush, Nathan and Hal Davis, Braydi and Brycen Davis all of Greenwood, Amelia Harrell of Van Buren and Lorelai Maierhoffer of Rogers.
Memorial service will be 10 a.m., Thursday, December 1 at Rye Hill Baptist Church with inurnment at Steep Hill Cemetery under the direction of McConnell Funeral Home of Greenwood.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Crossroads Cowboy Church, Attn: Chapel Building Fund, P.O. Box 3, Natural Dam, AR 72948
To share a memory or leave a message for the family, please visit www.mcconnellfh.com.
