Mary Bridges

Mary Elizabeth Bridges was a force of life that will always remain within us. She passed away peacefully on July 22, 2024.

A devoted educator of over 30 years, Mary helped to launch the Cosmetology program at Carver Center for Arts and Technology. Mary was fiercely proud of her students and taught them to believe in themselves and never settle for less. She was tough when she needed to be and loved giving them a hard time. If she wasn't in front of her classroom door saying good morning to every person who walked by, she was in Hawaii, sipping a Mai Tai by the ocean listening to The Brothers Cazimero. She loved working in her yard, riding around on her tractor, painting her flowers (so they matched her ambiance), and watching all the critters play while she had her morning coffee. There wasn't a day she wasn't pushing boundaries in some way and making everyone around her laugh. She had a quick wit and sharp sense of humor.

Mary is survived by her brother, Henry Smearman Jr.; sister, Diane Romley and her husband, Victor; sister-in-law, Tracy Smearman; her aunts Gerri Jackson and Joan Jackson; nieces and nephews; great nieces and nephews; her cat, Maggie; and so many loyal friends and extended family members. She was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth Bridges, her parents, Henry Smearman Sr. and Doris Smearman, her younger brother John Smearman, sister-in-law Joyce Smearman and the meanest cat in the world, Jelly Bean.

A Public Viewing will be held Thursday, July 25th from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM & 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Connelly Funeral Home of Dundalk, 7110 Sollers Point Road. A funeral service for Mary Bridges will be held on Friday, July 26, 2024, at 10:00 AM at Merritt Park Baptist Church, 1799 Merritt Blvd. Interment will follow at Holly Hill Memorial Gardens.