Russell Bryant's Obituary
Russell Edward Bryant, age 84, was born in Memphis,Tennessee on November 15, 1925 to James Walter Bryant and Leola Edgar Bryant. He died on May, 24, 2010 due to complications from pulmonary fibrosis.Mr. Bryant was reared in Memphis,Tennessee where he graduated as valedictorian of his high school senior class. Upon graduation, he joined the United States Army Air Corps Cadet Training Program, and after completing one semester at Rhodes College, he went on active duty in February 1944. In March 1945, he completed navigation training at Ellington Field in Houston,Texas. He received the rank of Second Lieutenant and was awarded his Navigator Wings. In April 1945 Mr. Bryant was assigned to a B-29 Superfortress Crew stationed in Gulfport,Mississippi.Arriving in Kearney,Nebraska on August 6th in preparation for an assignment in the Pacific, he learned that an atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima. After the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, preparation for duty in the Pacific was discontinued and his crew completed their service in Tucson,Arizona and Roswell,New Mexico. He was discharged in February 1946.He received a Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction in Economics from Rhodes College, graduating number one in the Class of 1949. He was also inducted into the Rhodes College Hall of Fame. After graduate studies in Economics at the University of Chicago, he returned to Memphis for a brief career in banking.In 1952 he was employed by Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company in New Orleans,Louisiana. After a thirty-nine year career in telecommunications, he retired in 1991 as an Operations Manager with Bell South Telecommunications.Mr. Bryant married Marjoree Russell of Corinth,Mississippi in June, 1953, and they lived in Monroe,Houma,and New Orleans,Louisiana until 1999 when they moved to Austin,Texas.Throughout his life, Russell was active in Baptist and Presbyterian churches, teaching church school classes from middle school through senior adult and singing in church choirs. He served as an ordained Deacon and Elder in Houma,New Orleans,and Austin. His hobbies and interests included painting and drawing, bridge, and golf.Russell is survived by his wife of fifty-seven years, Marjoree; his two sons, Douglas Edward and his wife, Rebecca, of Houston,Texas;Thomas Russell and his wife, Carolyn, of Austin,Texas and one daughter, Emily Bryant Ponder and her husband, Paul, of Plano,Texas. His is also survived by one sister, Ruth Bryant, of St. Louis,Missouri and one brother, Ray and his wife, Hattie, of Natchez,Mississippi plus six grandsons, Randall, Peyton, Jeffrey, William, and Benjamin Bryant and Hayden Ponder and one granddaughter, Claire Ponder.The family wishes to thank the physicians of Pulmonary and Critical Care Consultants of Austin as well as the staff, nurses, and assistants at the Intermediate Care Unit at Seton Medical Center and the long-term acute care team at Cornerstone Hospital.A visitation and funeral service will be held at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee on Monday, May 31, 2010. The visitation will take place from 1:00 to 2:30, May 31st followed by a Chapel Service at 2:30p.m. Interment will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis,TN.Donations may be made to the American Lung Association, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 800 Washington DC 20004
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