Dr. Bryan, age 87, of Davidson, North Carolina, died November 21, 2015 at The Pines of Davidson Nursing Home, in Davidson, North Carolina.
He was born on January 1, 1928 in Bluff City, Tennessee.
Dr. Bryan served on the faculty of Davidson College from 1955 to 1993. He was a Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at Davidson College, having graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee in 1955.
Dr. Bryan was a member of the American Chemical Society and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity. He was also a member of Davidson United Methodist Church.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Tom and Blanche Bryan. He is survived by his brother, Dr. Eugene T. Bryan and his wife Toni Bryan and niece, Tracy Bryan White and her 2 sons Jonathan Bryson White and Brady Martin White and niece Stefanie Bryan Huber and her husband Craig Alan Huber and their children Maximilian Bryan Huber and Alexandra Daisy Huber.
A memorial service will be held January 8, 2016 at 2pm, at Davidson United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Davidson United Methodist Church or Bluff City United Methodist Church.
Raymer-Kepner Funeral Home is serving the family.
As nice a teacher as I ever had. I remember taking Quantitative Inorganic Chemistry from him in summer school, 1963; in order to complete a semester in three weeks, as was the schedule, we had to complete two labs every day. Martin Science was of course not air conditioned, and this course involved using ovens to dry our samples; to keep from totally broiling, we used to start in the labs before breakfast, break for class, then do our second lab of the day before the afternoon made the place unbearable. One morning, I had completed all of my assignment except the final weighing of the dried sample. As I carried it from the furnace to the bench to cool, my forceps slipped, and there went a day’s work, shattered on the floor! Dr. Bryan happened to be standing in sight of me; I didn’t know whether to cry or curse; but he just laughed, in such an infectious manner, I had to just recognize the fallen nature of the world, bad things happen to good people–and he got me another sample and I started over. A good man.
Lowrie Beacham, ’65