Belmore H. Bridgford

Belmore Bridgford, age 93, resident of Vero Beach, Florida, departed this life June 28, 2026. Belmore was an April Fool's baby born to Samuel Bailey Hicks Jr. and Elizabeth Hicks, both of Shreveport, Louisiana. She was predeceased by her husband Peter Bridgford, who she was married to for 59 years. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Peter W Bridgford Jr. and his wife Celeste; granddaughters Isabella and Willow Bridgford; her niece Katherine Sale; and many other loving family and friends. Belmore graduated from the Hockaday School in Dallas, TX and Randolph-Macon College in Ashland,VA. She not only interviewed Elvis Presley for the Shreveport Times newspaper at the Louisiana Hayride while wearing an, “I Like Elvis,” pin, she also worked in the White House as one of Mrs. Mamie Eisenhower's social secretaries for several years. After marrying her husband, who was a newly discharged member of the United States Navy, the couple set off to Indiana and then California as he began working his way up the ranks of Eli Lilly. This all changed drastically when he decided to serve the Lord and become an Episcopal priest. Belmore took on one of the toughest assignments there is – as a priest wife. She fulfilled this role with aplomb at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown, NY, at the Church of the Holy Communion in Lakeview, NY, at St. John’s Grace Episcopal Church in Buffalo, NY for twenty-seven years, and for their remaining years together in Vero Beach. Belmore spent her life as an active philanthropist and an avid volunteer. Funeral services will be held at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church at 10 AM on July 25, 2026

(To livestream the service, please copy and paste the following to your web browser of choice: https://www.staugustinevero.com/livestream). Her ashes will be interred at Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, NY, in August, next to her husband.

In lieu of flowers, please please copy and paste the following to your web browser of choice to make a gift to The Cooley Anemia Foundation (https://thalassemia.org/Donate) or the American Red Cross (https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/)

A Funeral Service will be held at St Augustine Episcopal Church, 475 43rd Ave, Vero Beach, FL 32968, US, on July 25, 2026, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.