Hugh Frederick Bryant “Big Hugh” passed away on November 12, 2024, and was reunited with his wife of 63 years, Mary Lewis, or “Mamie,” who passed in 2020 and his son, Scott, who passed in 1987. Hugh was a native and lifelong resident of Gastonia, NC. He was born to Charles King Bryant, Sr. and Mary Leila Miller Bryant on April 30, 1935, and was the youngest of five siblings.
Hugh attended Davidson College for two years before transferring to UNC-Chapel Hill to follow his future wife, Mamie, after she transferred there from Salem College. He earned a business degree from UNC-CH in 1958. Rather than join the family business, he struck out on his own and began a successful career in the insurance industry joining New England Mutual Life Insurance as an agent in 1959. Hugh quickly rose in the industry ranks consistently qualifying for the Million Dollar Roundtable. He joined J.T. Comer, Inc. as their Vice President in Sales and Administration and later worked for Jefferson Standard before founding Hugh F. Bryant and Associates where he worked until recently after at least a decade of promising to retire “next year.”
Hugh’s successful career earned him numerous trips that became family adventures. Some of the more memorable were to Myrtle Beach, SC; Sea Island, GA; Disneyland and San Francisco, CA; Calloway Gardens, GA; Kiawah Island, SC; Colorado Springs, CO and many historic sites up and down the East Coast. There were also many family road trips to Chapel Hill to watch their beloved Tar Heels in action. In more recent years, Hugh’s travel primarily involved trips to visit family in Smyrna, GA or Raleigh and the North Carolina Coast. As he got older, none of these trips could be too quick – “it is too far to go for such a short time,” – or too long – he had to get home to check his email and get his mail.
Hugh was a man of faith who worshipped regularly and participated in weekly bible study. Next to his love for God, his greatest passion was taking care of and providing for his family. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, who took great pride in the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren.
Although Hugh was a very private person, he loved knowing what was going on in everyone else’s life. He was often the one sitting on the outskirts of the room, listening intently and living vicariously through other’s antics. In his later years, Hugh was often spotted dining around town at some of his favorite establishments including Jackson’s Cafeteria, Ray’s Country Grill, Will’s Doggn’ It Deli, and Milano’s where he became a regular and befriended the servers and waitstaff.
Hugh was an avid gardener and flower arranger. He could easily identify multiple species of plants and tell you what conditions they required for successful maturation. He was a frequent customer of Ford’s Gardening Center in downtown Gastonia and had he ever embarked on a second career, it would have been working in a greenhouse, nursery or florist with his neighbor, Gail Spears. He kept his lawn and exterior property immaculate. In contrast, his housekeeping tended towards the other extreme with his dining room table frequently covered with his “papers.” His filing system was unique and unconventional, often mixing newspaper fliers with important financial documents. This strategy meant that he knew where he thought everything was, but no one could find it – perhaps his own version of privacy protection. He was also infamous for misplacing his wallet, keys, phone and laptop, once even securing his iPad in the oven since no potential intruders would think to look there for anything valuable.
Hugh served his country in the N.C. Air National Guard for ten years. He was active in many community organizations including the Gastonia Rotary Club and the Gastonia Jaycees, He also served on the Gaston College Board of Trustees, the N.C. Board of Community Colleges, Hospice of Gastonia Board of Trustees, and was a founding trustee and Chair of the Carrie and Lena Glenn Foundation. Hugh was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Gastonia, where he served as a Deacon and Elder. He also worshipped at Providence Presbyterian in Gastonia.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Mary Lewis Craig Bryant, his son, William Scott Bryant, extended family member Martha “Mot” Postell Franklin, his parents, and his siblings Charles, Harry, Mary and Dick. He is survived by his daughter Ashley Bryant Chapman and husband Joe; his son Stephen Bryant and wife Cari; his grandsons Joe Chapman and Hugh Bryant Chapman and wife Samantha, and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family remains eternally grateful for the support of numerous friends and neighbors especially Wayne and Gail Spears, Ron France, Phil McCoy, Lyle Branagan, Alphonso Lowery, Stan Dover and Grady Moseley along with his amazing caregivers, who have helped in recent months, including, Petra Hogue, Pam Paige, Christina McCarthy, Destini Brack, Lisa Davenport, Pam Nolen, Jamie Welch and countless others.
A celebration of life service will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Gastonia on Sunday, December 1st at 2pm with a visitation afterwards. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the William Scott Bryant Memorial Fund at UNC-CH, 523 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 or the SAS Educational Fund at the Community Foundation at P.O. Box 123, Gastonia, NC 28053.