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Date of these obituaries: 08-06-97
Firefighter Ronald Lee Bridewell, Beverly Hills hero
Firefighter Ronald Lee Bridewell rushed into the smoke and flames of the Beverly Hills fire over and over, pulling victims out, taking off his oxygen mask to give the clean breaths to others.
His actions saved lives that night in 1977, and ultimately cost him his own life Monday afternoon, when he died at St. Luke Hospital from respiratory problems caused by inhaling the smoke and heat that night.
"He always felt he could have saved more people than he did had he not collapsed and been sent to the hospital, " said his daughter, Mary Ann Tischner of Newport.
"He was going in with his mask, and then putting it on the people he found, so they could make it out."
His lung problems for 20 years after the blaze were "because of the fire, " she said.
"But if he was standing here now and there was a fire, he'd do the same thing."
Mr. Bridewell had wanted to be a firefighter since he was a child, his daughter said.
"His parents didn't want him to; they were afraid he'd get hurt. But it was all he ever wanted, " Mrs. Tischner said.
He and his wife, Marilyn Roll Bridewell, had six children. "He was a perfect father. He didn't have a favorite kid - he had six of them. He tossed ball with the boys and he was there for all the gymnastics and cheerleading for the girls. Family was the most important thing to him."
When the Beverly Hills Supper Club burned in 1977, Mr. Bridewell was on the Newport fire crew that rushed to help.
"He pulled 26 to 28 people out by himself, " said Newport Assistant Fire Chief Jim Schafer. He said a National Fire Association book about the Beverly Hills fire devoted several pages to Ron Bridewell's rescue efforts.
"He had a lot of respect on the fire ground, " Schafer said.
Mr. Bridewell was assistant chief when Schafer joined the Newport force, two years after the Beverly Hills fire.
"I saw pictures of him from before the fire and he was a stocky man. When I came on he was thin and frail- looking, " Schafer said.
But he wasn't frail in spirit.
"He was known as a disciplinarian. He kept things in line. He was strict with all the rules. He was good on a fire, " Schafer said.
"He was calm. He knew what he was doing.
"He came up through the ranks. He proved himself and he got respect from the guys that way. If he told the guys to do something, they did it. They knew he wouldn't send them in to do anything he wouldn't do."
Mr. Bridewell retired from the fire department in 1980, when doctors told him he had six months to live. "I was afraid he wouldn't be there for my graduation, but he saw me graduate and got to see me get married, " his daughter said.
He became active with the Retired Firefighters and Police Association, helping to arrange conventions and working with retirees and widows on pension questions.
Two weeks ago he fell ill at his Highland Heights home. "We thought it was a heart attack, but it was an infection in his lungs, " his daughter said. He died at 4:15 p.m. Monday.
In addition to his wife and daughter, survivors include sons Ron Bridewell of Melbourne, Greg Bridewell of Alexandria and Steve Bridewell of Southgate; daughters, Lisa Ruschman of Butler and Sandy Giles of Alexandria; brothers, Ray Bridewell of Newport and Bill Bridewell of Ashland; sisters, Bonnie Walter of Highland Heights and Sharon Montgomery of Taylor Mill; and nine grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at St. Joseph Church, Cold Spring. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. today at Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home, Newport. Burial will be in St. Stephen Cemetery, Ft. Thomas. Memorials are suggested to American Heart Association, 1885 Dixie Highway, Suite 250, Ft. Wright 41011, or American Lung Association, 11113 Kenwood Road, Cincinnati 45242.
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Russell Cook, 48, of Covington, died at 9:25 a.m. Monday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Covington. He was an employee of Butler Heating and Air Conditioning Co.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Katherine Cook of Covington; a son, Scott Cook of Ft. Mitchell; daughters, Marissa Clare and Emily Cook, both of Ft. Mitchell; stepdaughters, Violet Penick and Mary Penick, both of Covington; a brother, Richard Hensley of Louisville; and two grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Don Catchen and Son Funeral Home, Covington. Visitation will begin there at noon Thursday. Burial will be in Linden Grove Cemetery, Covington.
Robert DeVore, 87, of Wilder, died Tuesday at his home. He was a stationary engineer with Sterns and Foster Co. and a former Wilder city treasurer.
Survivors include his wife, Katherine Bourne DeVore; daughters, Jane Haney and Nancy Losey, both of Wilder; sisters, Bess Carter and Evelyn Stutzman, both of Sayler Park, Ohio; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at McDonald Funeral Home, Main Street, Owenton. Visitation will begin there at noon Thursday. Burial will be in IOOF Cemetery, Owenton. Memorials are suggested to American Heart Association, 1885 Dixie Highway, Suite 250, Ft. Wright 41011.
William A. Glindmeyer, 71, of Covington, died at 1 a.m. Monday at his home. He was a retired Covington firefighter and a former Covington fire marshal. He was a member of Kolping Society of Cincinnati, Covington Turners, Navy Seabees, Northern Kentucky Firefighters Association and the Holy Name Society of Mother of God Church. He was a master mechanic and a Navy veteran of World War II and the Korean War.
Survivors include his wife, M. Verna Glindmeyer; a son, William A. Glindmeyer Jr. of Cincinnati; daughters, Theresa A. Klosterman of Glenburn, Md., Angela D. Doellman of Erlanger and Carol A. Glindmeyer of Oklahoma; a brother, Ralph W. Glindmeyer of Ft. Mitchell and five grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. John Church, Covington. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. today at Don Catchen and Son Funeral Home, Covington. Kolping Society services will be at 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Burial will be in Mother of God Cemetery, Ft. Wright. Memorials are suggested to Covington Firefighters Association, 23rd and Howell, Covington 41014.
Martha Katherine Gonnelly Guy, 82, of Latonia, died Tuesday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center North, Covington.
Arrangements are pending at Connley Brothers Funeral Home, Latonia.
Della Florence Wilson Guyton, 87, of Maysville, died Monday at Maysville Extended Care Center. She was a homemaker and a member of Germantown Christian Church. She also was a former member of Northside Christian Church and Germantown Festival Committee.
Her husband, Kenneth Paul Guyton, died in 1976. Survivors include several nieces and nephews.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Palmer Funeral Home, Germantown. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Maple Grove Cemetery, Germantown. Memorials are suggested to Germantown Christian Church, Germantown 41044.
Emma J. Leicht, 71, of Bellevue, died at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday at her home. She was a homemaker.
Her husband, Clifford R. Leicht, died in 1980.
Survivors include daughters, Cynthia Leicht of Bellevue, Deborah Ferry of Harrison, Ohio, and Donna Stull of Covington; sons, Clifford Leicht Jr. of Loveland, Ohio, Leslie Leicht of Highland Heights, Gregory Leicht and Douglas Leicht, both of Cold Spring; sisters, Pauline Jacobs of Foster and Geraldine Fithen of Bethel, Ohio; and 11 grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Dobbling Funeral Home, Bellevue. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate.
Memorials are suggested to the American Heart Association, 1885 Dixie Highway, Suite 250, Ft. Wright 41011.
Viola Jane Enzweiler Nagel, 80, of Cincinnati, formerly of Camp Springs, died Monday at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati. She was a homemaker and a member of Oakland Methodist Church, Melbourne.
Survivors include a stepson, Thomas C. Nagel of Bellevue; a stepdaughter, Laura Katherine Pabst of Seminole, Fla.; a sister, Hazel Enzweiler of Cincinnati; 12 grandchildren and 17 great- grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Alexandria Funeral Home. Visitation will begin there at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Burial will be in Alexandria Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to American Lung Association, 11113 Kenwood Road, Cincinnati 45242, or Salvation Army, 340 W. 10th St., Newport 41071.
Conrad "Connie" Timothy Ryan, 73, of New Port Richey, Fla., formerly of Northern Kentucky, died July 19 at Columbia Medical Hospital in New Port Richey. He was a retired part- owner of Southern Lanes, Alex andria. Survivors include his wife, Vickie Jones Ryan; daughters, Connie Doyle of Rabbit Hash and Debbie Ryan of New Port Richey; a son, Mark Ryan of Oxford, Ohio; and three grandchildren.
Memorial Mass will be at 6 p.m. today at St. Thomas More Church in Withamsville, Ohio. Memorials are suggested to American Cancer Society, 7730 U.S. 42, Suite C6, Florence 41042.
Howard Lee "Johnny" Stewart, 71, of Cincinnati, formerly of Newport, died Tuesday at Mt. Washington Care Center in Cincinnati. He was owner of an auto repair shop and an Army veteran of World War II.
Survivors include daughters, Norma Brockman of Elsmere, Sheila Mullins of Villa Hills, Brenda Morgan of Southgate and Lori Cromer of Newport; a brother, Murrel Stewart of New Castle, Ind.; sisters, Betty Conlon and Shela Fatsy, both of Cincinnati; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Stith Funeral Home, Florence. Visitation will begin there at 11 a.m. Thursday. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery, Ft. Mitchell.
