Juanita Bridges Stephens -- Secretary and Administrative Assistant

 

Juanita Bridges Stephens

Juanita Katherine Bridges Stephens was born on July 27, 1929 on Beechy Fork Creek in the Maple Grove community of Trigg County, Kentucky.  She was the third of four children of Peyton Thomas “Pate” Bridges and Ida Crutchfield Light Bridges.  Pate was a grocery businessman, a native of Trigg County and a grandson of Cullen Thomas Bridges and a great-great grandchild of Cullen Thomas.  His wife Ida also worked in the grocery business, was a homemaker and also a native of Trigg County.  Ida was a descendant of Starkie Thomas.

Juanita was the only daughter in her family.  She had three brothers, Alfred Wesley Bridges, born in 1922 and died in 1926 at the age 4; Chester Keidell Bridges, born in 1925 and married Doris Dale Anderson; and Charles Kenneth Bridges, born in 1944 and married Pamela Rowe.

Juanita’s early years were spent growing up in the Maple Grove community where she attended the one-room Maple Grove School.  Her family moved to Cadiz in 1939 and she attended Cadiz Graded School and Trigg County High School where she was a cheerleader and graduated in 1947. Juanita went on to attend the Andrew Jackson Business College in Nashville, Tennessee in 1947 and 1948.

On May 3, 1949, Juanita married Gene Tunney Stephens in Piggott, Arkansas. Piggott was a popular wedding destination for several Trigg County couples at that time.  Gene was born on July 23, 1927 and was the son of Arnette Melvin and Alvie Mitchell Stephens.  Both Melvin and Alvie were natives of Trigg County. Juanita and Gene had no children.

Juanita and Gene settled in Cadiz after their marriage but finding a lucrative job in that post-war time in a small town was difficult. So similar to what many young couples did back in the 1940s they starting looking for jobs outside their hometown.  In 1950, Gene accepted a position with the Preload Construction Company located in Garden City, New York.  Preload built large storage tank facilities for water, storm water and wastewater treatment made from prestressed concrete throughout the eastern portion of the U.S.  Several young Trigg County families worked for Preload and these families often traveled together to many job locations.

Nita did not work during the years she and Gene spent with Preload.  They never stayed longer than five or six months in any one location.  They found themselves living in almost all the eastern states as well as midwestern jobs in Missouri, Michigan and even in Texas.  Nita liked to say they lived liked gypsies traveling from job site to job site as they lived in more than 20 states during the 1950s. 

In 1962, when Juanita’s father’s health declined, she moved back to Cadiz as Gene continued to travel with Preload.  They bought a house in east Cadiz and then finally moved to a new home in the western portion of Cadiz.  Juanita was finally was able to put her skills she learned in business college to use when she accepted her first full time position as a clerk with the Trigg County Board of Education. In 1967, she began a career working with the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Land Between the Lakes, serving in various administrative positions.  Gene left Preload in 1966 and returned full time to Cadiz where he worked as an operator for the Cadiz Water Plant. In 1973 he returned to work for several more years with the Preload Company.  Both Juanita and Gene retired from their jobs in the 1990s and spent their retirement years in Cadiz.

Juanita died on March 18, 2003 at the age of 73 in the Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz after a valiant fight with breast cancer.  She was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz.  Gene had died on November 19, 2001 at the age of 74 in the Trigg County Hospital and was buried in the East End Cemetery next to his wife.

 Juanita and Gene Stephens

 

A young Juanita with her brother, Keidell

 

Juanita and Gene's tombstone

LINEAGE: (Juanita Katherine Bridges Stephens was the daughter of Peyton Thomas and Ida Light Bridges and the granddaughter of Ghent Alfred and Nettie Cunningham Bridges.  Ghent was the third child of Cullen Thomas and Virginia Thomas Bridges.  Cullen was the twelfth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

NOTE:  This leaf is published on this Mother’s Day Weekend 2024 in honor of my sister, Juanita Bridges Stephens, who had no children of her own, but she was a “second mother” to me. She was 16 when I was born and I think she always thought of me as her child and I know I could count on her as my “second mother” during her entire life. It is with her inspiration and love of family that I am able to write this blog.   "Happy Mother’s Day, Neenie! I love you."