By Williesha Morris | wmorris@al.com
Bridgett Michelle Rutledge Jones, Alabama salon owner and hairstylist, died Sept. 8. She was 58. She was known for her two salons, Bridgett’s at Greystone and Jucos Aveda Salon Spa, one of the first Black-owned Aveda concept salons in Alabama.
Birmingham stylist and salon owner Tonya Jones (unrelated to Bridgett) met her when taking classes together at Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute in the early 2000s. Tonya Jones said she had a sense of peace about her and learned a lot from her.
“I just want people to remember her for the strong woman she was, the passionate woman she was,” Tonya Jones said. “She had a burning desire to help people, to please people, to make them look beautiful. Hands down, (she was) probably one of the most talented hairdressers I’ve ever met.”
Jones was born on Christmas Eve in 1964. She graduated from Huffman High School in 1983 and earned her associate’s degree at Lawson State Community College. She taught students at Jackson Olin High School and later became an instructor at Aveda. She styled celebrities such as Tom Joyner and several Alabama television personalities, including former WVTM 13 anchor Malena Cunningham Anderson.
Anderson lived near Jones and her family. She said Jones’ salon was fun, a place of sisterhood and a “sanctuary.” Jones would even take time out of her schedule to do Anderson’s hair at the last minute.
“There were times when there was breaking news that she would meet me at her shop. The shop wasn’t even open,” Anderson said. “So I was always appreciative of her being accommodating to what could be a crazy schedule for a news anchor.”
Jones loved the outdoors, God, and, most of all, her children, according to her daughter Cody Danielle Short. Short said she was in her happy place when she combined those three elements of her life by hiking with her and her brother Julius Elworth Short.
Jones attended and volunteered with multiple churches, including Maple Grove Church of God, New Covenant of Faith Ministries, Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, and Sixth Avenue Baptist Church. In her spare time, she created wigs for cancer patients and was a member of the Birmingham chapter of Jack and Jill of America, according to information provided by her family.
Jones is survived by her children, her mother, Carolyn Rutledge Jones, and her sisters, Adrienne Jones Harper (Edgar Harper Jr.), Danielle Catrice Jones Williams, Erica Stanford, and Ersula Stanford (Thomas Peace).
Jones’ celebration service was held Saturday, Sept. 16, at 1 p.m. at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church.
