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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Wapella.com Mourns the Passing of Jim Bryan


Former Wapella High School Basketball Coach has passed away at the age of 67.

Coach Bryan's funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Calvert Funeral Home, Clinton, with J. Kent Hickerson and the Rev. Andrew Maxwell officiating. Burial will be at Oak Park Cemetery, Clinton. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Memorial gifts may be made to Waynesville United Methodist Church, Clinton Country Club or Clinton Elks Lodge.

He was born Oct. 3, 1941, in Vera, a son of Harold Max Bryan and Elsie I. Williams. He married Ulanda Ruger in August 1962 in Flora. He later married Janet Buck on Dec. 30, 2003, in Memphis, Tenn.

He is survived by his wife, Janet Bryan, Clinton; his mother, Elsie Covey, Effingham; two daughters, Kelly (Mike) Ginger and Stephanie (Jeff) Barger, both of Clinton; four grandchildren, Corey and Haley Ginger and Braxton and Breanna Barger; two stepchildren, Randy Craig, Atlanta; and Kristy (Bill) Reynolds, Mount Pulaski; three stepgrandchildren, May, Katy, and Bethany Reynolds; a brother, Bill Bryan, Humble, Texas; and two sisters, Jill (Bill) McDonald, Evansville, Ind.; and Jan Bryan, Springfield.

He was preceded in death by his father.

He was a Country Companies agent for 40 years and was a graduate of Illinois State University.

He was a member of Clinton Country Club, Clinton Elks Lodge, Eagles Lodge, DeWitt County Farm Bureau, and the ISU Alumni Association.

By a unanimous vote of the Board of Wapella Historians, Coach Jim Bryan was voted an honorary Wapella Wildcat. The Wapella Flag flies at Half-Mast today for Jim Bryan.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maxie was always a genleman as well as a fine golfer and overall great diplomat. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, he will be missed.

SB4 said...

To say jim Bryan was a basketball coach is a misnomer....he coached everything Wapella High School had to offer its athletes, including baseball, basketball, and track. He encouraged me to try golf for the very first time. He was a positive role in my life and was instrumental in getting me to think about attending college. I'm sorry I didn't tell him that what is guidance meant to me after I left Wapella, went to college, graduated, and then went on with life. It's amazaing how a person's life is condensed to a few short sentences or a twenty minute funeral service when so much more is involved.

Moderator said...

Well said SB4,

Good words for a good guy are always welcome on Wapella.com

Biographical information, historical sketches and nostalgia would certainly fit if you wanted to expand on Coach Bryan or any other Wapella related subject.

Fire up an email to wapella@gmail.com and I'll post it

The Moderator

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