Marlyn “Jackie” Bridges

Marlyn “Jackie” (Muir) Bridges, 81, of the Lake of the Ozarks passed away peacefully in her sleep in the presence of family and her dog Calee Sunday afternoon Sept. 6, 2020. A private Celebration of Life is planned for October.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Alzheimer’s Association at:

By Mail: Alzheimer’s Assoc. 3846 W 75th Street Prairie Village, KS 66208

Or Online:  https://www.alz.org/get-involved-now/donate

Click on Donate. Check “Yes” under Is this a Tribute gift? Under Honor Gift Type, choose “In Memory of”. Then under Honoree name, type Jackie (Marlyn) Bridges.

Jackie, an only child, was born on Feb. 25th, 1939 in Virginia to Joseph and Mildred Muir. After growing up in the East, she attended college in Illinois where she claimed the name we all know her by–Jackie. She traveled to California where she met the love of her life, Thomas R. Bridges, who preceded her in death in 2013. After marrying and having their two sons, Richard and Terry, Jackie and Tom moved to Kansas City, MO., where Tom was employed by TWA.

In addition to raising their two boys, Jackie taught swim lessons at home and at the neighborhood YMCA where she became the Aquatics Director quickly. Over the years, she taught hundreds of Northlanders how to swim. Jackie could be found on Friday nights at the high school basketball and football games and on weekends at track meets, swim meets, and the race track cheering on her sons Richard and Terry. Also during the weekends, she enjoyed “helping” Tom and the boys as they worked on cars. Her love of children led Jackie into working at Little Children’s Learning Center and then Children’s World Daycare after retiring from the YMCA. She even helped put one son through college by teaching swim lessons each summer from her own backyard pool. As a child, Jackie trained and showed horses and dogs which she carried into adulthood with her dog Buddy.

In 1994, Jackie and Tom retired to Florida for the winters and the Lake of the Ozarks for the summers. They had many fun adventures traveling in RVs with their Florida friends around the United States. Some of Jackie’s favorite past times at the lake were teaching her grandsons how to swim and canoe, watching her grandchildren and great-grandchildren tube and ski, and sitting on her screened-in porch watching beautiful sunsets over the water. She was always game for a ride on the SeaDoo, a quick boat ride around the lake, and watching her great-grandchildren play sports. She loved spending hours working in her flower beds and scheming to keep the deer from eating her plants. After caring for her own parents through Alzheimer’s and strokes, Jackie began to show signs of Alzheimer’s herself. We are proud that she still knew her loved ones and could laugh with them before she passed away.

Jackie leaves behind her sons Richard (Helen) Bridges and Terry (Cathy) Bridges; grandsons Tyler (Stacy) Ratajczyk, Derrick (Shelby) Bridges, Rex (Melissa) Bridges, and Nathan (Anna McFadden) Bridges; and great-grandchildren Ella and Tanner Ratajczyk, Damian and Marla Bridges, and Gunner and Easton Bridges.

Visits: 1