Bill Bridges

Bill Bridges, 91, of Prosser, died Sept. 28, 2019 at Prestige Rehabilitation in Sunnyside.  He was born April 7, 1928 to Thomas and Vera (Kerr) Bridges in Gromore, Wa.  Bill came from a large family of 10 children.  In his early years he moved around the Yakima Valley before the large family finally settled in Yakima.  At the age of 6 Bill lost his father in a vehicle accident.  It was left up to his mother and oldest sister to raise the children.  Of these children Bill is survived by 1 brother, Thomas Bridges (Julie) of Yakima.  He is preceeded in death by sisters Marion Bridges, Opal Luisi, Vera Roberts and Ruby Strong.  He is also preceeded in death by brothers Clarence, Eugene, Kenneth and Gerald (Jerry).   In 1946 Bill joined the Navy.  His fleet mainly stayed in the south Pacific where he was able to explore many of the islands.  After his tour of duty was up Bill married Nydia Stoops in Toppenish, WA on April 16, 1950.  They had a fulfilling life together raising 4 children:  Terrie (Williard) Gipson and Alan of Prosser, Connie Kouski and Virgil of Chesterfield, VA, Randy Bridges of Phoenix, AZ and Tammie Bridges of Canal Winchester, OH.  Bill also has 3 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren and 4 great great grandchildren.  Shortly after his marriage he went to work at the Yakima Tent & Awning.  From this experience Bill was able to start his own business in Sunnyside, The Sunnyside Tent & Awning.  During this time Bill also started his lifelong career with General Electric at the Hanford site.  Bill eventually sold the tent and awning business to concentrate on his position at Hanford.  Bill loved his job at Hanford, becoming an engineer in order to advance in his career.  GE then started transferring Bill across the country to troubleshoot and work at different job sites.  Bill worked at many electrical substations, power plants and nuclear plants.  During his working years, no matter where GE transferred him, Bill would take time to relax by building houses.  Over his lifetime he and Nydia built quite a few houses.  He always claimed he was a carpenter at heart, as was his own father. After retirement Bill finally had the time to indulge in his many hobbies: fine furniture making, woodworking and restoring old vehicles.  He was able to stay with his hobbies until he lost his eyesight in 2018 due to glaucoma.  Viewing will be 2:00pm to 6:00pm Wednesday, October 2 at Valley Hills Funeral Home in Sunnyside.  The service will be at 11:00am on Thursday, October 3 at Valley Hills Funeral Home in Sunnyside.  Luncheon after the service will be at the Roza Grill in Prosser.  As heartbroken as we are at Bill’s passing we know he is in a much better place, free of cancer, has his eyesight back and can hear again.  He is whole once more. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Bill Bridges, please visit our flower store.