He adored his wife and his two daughters and loved his entire extended family unconditionally. Anyone needing his help could have called in the middle of the night, and he would never have hesitated to offer whatever he could. Ken was the proverbial “give-you-the-shirt-off-his-back” kind of guy. The most energy Ken showed was when he was working with kids, reaching out to challenge them in a good way in order to have them learn. My husband Bill and I, along with our two kids, became fast friends with Ken and his family as we all worked together with hundreds of young people through the years. Ken was one of the first to show up at my door to volunteer. When I was a teacher in the gifted program at Northwest Middle School in Travelers Rest, I set up several all-school Olympics of the Mind creative problem-solving teams.

My husband and I owe so much to our friend Ken for his dedication and passion for teaching and caring for our two children, Jason Mitchell and Emily Mitchell Peters as if they were his own when they were in middle school and high school. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made “In Memory of Terry and Ken Bridwell” to the Greenville Tech Foundation to support Greenville Technical College Culinary Arts Program.ħ Duncan Road Travelers Rest SC 29690 United States The family has tentatively scheduled a celebration of life service for Apwhich would have been Ken and Terry’s 52nd wedding anniversary. He is survived by his brother, Ronald “Ronnie” (Sandra) Bridwell, and his sister, Karen Bridwell (Michael) Timmerman, and was predeceased by his parents, Grady Hampton Bridwell and Thelma (Hawkins) Bridwell. Ken was a loving husband to Terry Bolick Bridwell, devoted father to Allison Bridwell (Erik) Leaver of Silver Spring, MD and Shelley Bridwell Noble of Atlanta, GA and adoring grandfather to Reilly Allison Leaver, Logan Charles Leaver, and Matthew Joseph Noble.

He never seemed to be in short supply of contraband snacks and fireworks, especially when his grandchildren were visiting. Though many will remember him for his intelligence, deep convictions, and leadership skills, Ken was also loved for his sense of humor which could be characterized as goofy with a healthy dose of sarcasm and boyish mischievousness. Under his leadership, Ken’steams often earned the right to travel to national competitions. He also found great joy as a volunteer with Odyssey of the Mind, a club where students develop creative problem-solving skills and compete against other teams, at Northwest Middle School and Travelers Rest High School. Ken balanced his career with loyal service to his church, Berea First Baptist, for over four decades where he served as a long-time youth ministry volunteer and Sunday school teacher. He spent the last part of his career working as the Assistant Treasurer at his alma mater, Furman University. Marvin and Associates Landscape Company then as a CPA at Graves Electric Company. Professionally, Ken worked as a CPA for Robert E. Ken and Terry Bolick Bridwell married on Apand shared 51 years together as well as two daughters and three grandchildren. He later earned a master’s in accounting from The University of Georgia and served as 2nd Lieutenant in the National Guard. Ken went on to Furman University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts cum laude and served in the ROTC.

Ken graduated from Parker High School where he was student body president and had eyes only for Miss Terry Bolick, his high school sweetheart and future bride. Born on Septemin Greenville, SC to Grady Hampton Bridwell and Thelma (Hawkins) Bridwell, he was the oldest of three children. Kenneth Raymond Bridwell, age 73, of Travelers Rest, SC, passed away on Tuesday, Augfrom complications related to COVID-19.

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