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Monday, June 9, 2008

Shirley Bridge

1922 - 2008
Philanthropist & Womens' Advocate

Shirely passed away late last month - she had been battling cancer for many years - and it was a battle she ultimately lost. Her passing did not go unnoticed - and she will be missed by those whose lives she touched.

From an article by Casey McNerthney:
"When Shirley Bridge was married six decades ago, it was common for women to give up their professions and stay home to support their families. But the former Shirley Selesnick told her fiance she would marry him on the condition that she would continue her career, being one of the state's first female pharmacists. And when the rabbi was rehearsing their wedding ceremony, she had him change the phrase "love, honor and obey" to "love, honor and cherish."

Bridge, a lifelong women's advocate, showed the same passion for philanthropy and Democratic ideals. She helped develop Seattle AIDS housing, brought improvements to Harborview Medical Center and her work benefited the Northwest School for Hearing-Impaired Children, among other organizations.

Bridge was a founding member of the Women's Endowment Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and was past president of the Seattle Women's Commission. After serving as the co-chairwoman of the campaign that established the Bailey-Boushay House, a nationally recognized hospice primarily for AIDS patients, a West Seattle AIDS housing facility was named in her honor. The Women's Endowment Foundation created the Shirley Bridge Power of One Award. And she received numerous other local awards for her volunteer work.

Bridge battled five primary cancers after getting her first diagnosis in 1955."

You can read more about this amazing woman:
Seattle Times
"Mrs. Bridge was a mentor and role model for decades to women in leadership positions in the Seattle area, Lieberman said. She also served on the boards of the Seattle Opportunities Industrial Council, the University of Washington Development Board, Women's Law Center and Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. Decades ahead of her time in the push for women's rights, she had opted not to promise to "obey" her husband at their 1948 wedding, but vowed to "love, honor and cherish" him, according to a Jewish Women's Archive article."

Seattle Post
"After serving as the co-chairwoman of the campaign that established the Bailey-Boushay House, a nationally recognized hospice primarily for AIDS patients, a West Seattle AIDS housing facility was named in her honor. The Women's Endowment Foundation created the Shirley Bridge Power of One Award. And she received numerous other local awards for her volunteer work."

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