Tuesday, May 12, 2020
OBITUARY
LaWanda Drakeford Bridges, 48, of Ellicott City, Maryland, was born on March 27, 1972, in Camden, South Carolina, the daughter of Paul Drakeford and the late Deloris Neal Drakeford. LaWanda graduated with honors from Camden High School in 1990 and went on to receive her Bachelor of Business Administration with a minor in Management Information Science and Finance from Temple University in 1994, and her Master’s in Information Science from Pennsylvania State University in 2000.
As a child, LaWanda loved to spend time with her large family and cherished many memories. At six she was able to steer a ’57 Chevy pickup truck while sitting in her father’s lap (he operated the pedals). In her pre-teen and teen years, she loved playing the piano, Taekwondo, oration, participating in organizations, cheerleading, singing and modeling to name a few. She earned a brown belt in Taekwondo and competed state-wide breaking wood boards with her bare hands. LaWanda studied with top local piano and voice instructors, played piano at the Fine Arts Center with a group from Italy, and was her church pianist. She was a charter member of the M.A. Robinson Girls Club of the National and South Carolina Federation of Women’s and Girls Clubs. LaWanda participated in oratorical competitions and was spokesperson for the Drakeford Community Park.
LaWanda was especially close to her mother and from a young age, encouraging her mother to become one of the most loved and successful teachers in Camden, to buy her first home, and to buy a sharp new Mercedes. Her parents took her to the St. John Missionary Baptist Church every Sunday and taught her to excel in school which developed excellent hard work habits. She was in gifted and talented programs during high school attending three different state college summer enrichment programs. In the10th grade she was accepted to a two-year college. In 1989, LaWanda spent her high school senior year as an exchange student in Germany. This challenged and expanded her view of the world as she quickly learned the language, made friends, and gained a lifelong relationship with her German host family. She was in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell, and she saw Nelson Mandela speak in Berlin about the time apartheid fell in South Africa.
While in Germany, LaWanda applied to colleges and was accepted to all but chose Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. LaWanda’s father put her in the care of his oldest living sister, Willie Mae Willis. While living with her aunt, she learned how to cook and developed a stronger bond with her cousin Alex, and he became the big bother she always wanted.
After college, LaWanda worked for several IT companies. However soon after completing her master’s degree, she started her career at Lockheed Martin as a database architect and administrator. Because of her exceptional work ethic, accomplishments and leadership abilities, she was selected for and completed the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technical Leadership Program. This catapulted her career, and she was well-known within Lockheed Martin for helping to win the contract for the entire Communications System for the United Kingdom Department of Justice in 2014. Ultimately her division was acquired by Leidos and LaWanda helped them win a significant contract with the Federal Aviation Administration.
God started LaWanda on an incredible journey when she studied the bible and made the decision to make Jesus Lord. She was baptized into Christ on February 22, 2002, at the Greater Philadelphia Church of Christ. She met her future husband, Leon Bridges, Jr. on a group date and God made it clear they were meant to be. They were married October 15, 2005, and on March 5, 2010, God blessed them again with their handsome son, Bradley Drakeford Bridges. The theme for their marriage was “A Dream Come True” because God truly blessed their family and used them to impact many lives for Christ.
In 2016 LaWanda became a Certified Financial Education Instructor and started teaching a financial literacy program called the LiSA Initiative in seminars and public schools. She started the Building Bridges Foundation, Inc. whose mission is to help families create a legacy of generational wealth and touched the lives of many with her financial literacy strategies to help people create ultimate financial freedom. To enhance her leadership and mentoring skills LaWanda began training through the international Landmark Forum programs.
LaWanda had a passion for serving at home, in her community, and as a member of the Greater Baltimore Church of Christ. She expressed her love there fifteen years singing in the choir and serving in several family groups building the body of Christ. She will always be remembered for her amazing sense of humor and infectious laugh that always brightened the room. LaWanda truly lived life to the fullest spending time with friends and family and would drop everything to come to the aid of anyone in need. She excelled in every area of her life with a powerful force as a wife, mother, and friend to all. She leaves a great legacy of love, hope, strength, and inspiration to all who have been blessed with her presence in their lives.
LaWanda is survived by her devoted husband, Leon Bridges, Jr.; son, Bradley Drakeford Bridges; father, Paul Drakeford; sister, Shewanda Lathan (Mark); father and mother-in-law, Leon, Sr. and Dr. Eloise A. Bridges; sisters-in-law, Vanessa J. Bridges and Elise Bridges Hicks; brother-in-law, Elliott R. Bridges; nephews, Mark Lathan, Miles Lathan, and Jamison A. Hicks (Laura); great aunts, Mabel Biggs and Lizzie Jones; aunts, Willie Mae Willis, Martha DuBissette, Lucille Drakeford, Deborah Drakeford, Janie Drakeford, and Jacqueline Brown; and uncles, Ernest Drakeford (Alfred Mae), English Drakeford, John Drakeford (Mattie), Charles Neal (Margaret), Kenneth Neal (Janie); beloved cousins Alexander Dixon and Kimberly Mosley; and a host of cousins and friends. She is preceded in death by her beloved mother and closest friend, Deloris Neal Drakeford.
