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- Richard George Brydges, 83, died peacefully on Wednesday, March 2, at Seaside/Atlantic Shores after a long and courageous bout with illness. He was born on December 31, 1921 to William H. Brydges and Margaret McInerny Brydges of Niagara Falls, New York. He was reared in Big Island, Virginia, graduated from Marcuse High School, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame, and earned his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Virginia. For more than 55 years Mr. Brydges practiced law at Virginia Beach, and garnered an impressive reputation as a criminal attorney; "The trial lawyer's ultimate trial lawyer," as one of his colleagues referred to him. "In these days and times when no one wants to litigate, and everybody's happy - or relieved - to settle, Dick was the opposite, champing at the bit to get in front of a judge or jury," one friend said. In the early years, Mr. Brydges would volunteer his services as a court-appointed attorney to gain trial experience, and throughout his career helped those in need pro-bono. "You throw bread on the waters, it will come back ham sandwiches - Smithfield ham," he was fond of saying. He was the defense for a number of high-profile criminal cases, from murder to grand larceny to general "man bites dog" mayhem. One of the first to put him on the map was a case involving a young sailor who confessed to strangling a woman found dead in the hotel room they shared. Pictures of the man were found in the trashcan on an undeveloped roll of film. Mr. Brydges not only got the young man acquitted, but successfully sued True Detective Magazine for their damning feature story "I Have My Killer On Film" and won a then-unprecedented million-dollar settlement. Since that time, Mr. Brydges has won the impossible, "unwin-able" case time and time again, through grit, humor, articulation and sheer moxie ("but little having to do with the letter of the law in and of itself," he would often say with a wink and a smile). He received several awards over the years including the Distinguished Service Award from the Virginia State Bar Association, and most recently he was honored by the Virginia Beach Bar Association with The Brydges-Russo Distinguished Service Award, which the Bar graciously named after himself and his dear friend and Notre Dame classmate, the Honorable Philip L. Russo. Mr. Brydges served in many civic capacities over the years, including as Virginia State Highway Commissioner, president of the Virginia Beach Bar Association, a guest lecturer at distinguished Virginia law schools, and Commissioner in Chancery for the Circuit Court of Virginia Beach. He was a veteran of World War II, serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Field Artillery First Cavalry Division in both the Philippines and Occupied Japan. He is survived by his children, Suzanne Baker, Hugh and Maggie Brydges; his grandchildren, Suzanne and Joshua Kennedy, Maggie Dickerson, Melissa and Jennifer Lockwood; his great-grandchild, Patrick "Paddy" Kennedy; his sons-in-law, Norman Baker and Jim Lockwood; his niece and nephew, Ester and Jim Brydges; his mother-in-law, Miriam Brenaman; and his sisters-in-law, Julia and Miriam Brenaman. Mr. Brydges was married to the late Anne Miller of Bedford, Virginia, and the late Anne Brenaman of Richmond, Virginia. The family is extremely grateful for the legions of friends and family who have offered their support and love, shared stories and laughter, and also for the superlative and compassionate care he received from all his physicians, nurses and aids, notably those at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, Virginia Oncology Associates, Seaside/Atlantic Shores and Heartland Hospice. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the following scholarship, which his beloved friend, the Honorable William R. "Buster" O'Brien, established in his honor on the 50th anniversary of his membership in the Bar Association: The Richard G. Brydges Endowment, c/o Carol Hennion, Director of Development, University of Notre Dame, 1100 Grace Hall, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556-5612. We also ask that any eligible and willing parties please consider donating blood through the American Red Cross. Funeral arrangements are being handled by H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel, in Virginia Beach. The ceremony will be held at Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church on Monday, March 7, at 2 p.m. The family would be delighted to receive visitors Sunday evening, March 6, at Mr. Brydges' home at 1284 Laskin Road No. 301, Virginia Beach, and after the service at the offices of Brydges, Geroe, Rosenblatt & O'Brien at 1369 Laskin Road.
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1921 - 2005 (83 years)