Sharon Bryan

BRYAN (Lindell), Sharon

Sharon Lindell Bryan, age 73, passed away peacefully and surrounded by loved ones at home on June 29, 2024, at Reynolds Lake Oconee, in Greensboro, Georgia.

Sharon was born on May 22, 1951, at the military base in Newport News, Virginia, to Jane (Garrett) and Albert Lindell, Jr. Soon after she was born, the family moved to Houston, Texas, where her beloved paternal grandparents lived. During junior high, her family (now including younger brother, Al) moved to Columbus, Mississippi, where her father worked as an engineer at American Bosch. She graduated from S.D. Lee High School in Columbus, and began college at the Mississippi State College for Women in Columbus ("the W"), where she was a member of the Countess Social Club. After two years, she transferred to Mississippi State University in Starkville, where she married her husband of over 50 years, William (Bill) D. Bryan, Jr., and graduated with a degree in early childhood education in 1973. Soon after, Bill's career as an Air Force officer took the couple to Mather AFB in California, George AFB in California, Eglin AFB in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and later Marietta, Georgia, where they would settle and raise their three children: Courtney, Kathryn, and Kyle. After Kyle began elementary school, she pursued her passion for children as a preschool teacher at Mountain View Methodist Church Preschool for 10 years, in addition to raising her children, managing the household, and caring for her mother. Later, after Kyle recovered from cancer as a teenager, she joined CURE Childhood Cancer in Atlanta as a volunteer and later, a staff member, serving as a patient and family care liaison, providing support to families whose children were undergoing cancer treatment. In December 2015, she retired from CURE and moved with Bill to a home on Lake Oconee, where she devoted herself to her six grandchildren, the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, where she served on the Vestry, singing in both church and community choirs, and several volunteer efforts, most especially as a founder of Our Father's Kitchen in Greensboro.

Sharon's greatest joy and her extraordinary impact on this world was in how she touched people. She had a remarkable ability to nurture friendships through the ages, maintaining close ties with women from childhood and college to her current church community, and at every stage of life between. A woman of deep and humble faith in God, she used her special gifts – empathy, warmth, humor, patience, beautiful voice, and a smile that lit up a room – in the quiet service of others. She shared the pain and resilience of a mother whose child had cancer with families going through the same. She touched others' spirits as she too went through cancer treatment. She saw and served members of her community in poverty who not only needed a meal, but also fellowship and dignity. Most of all, she cherished her family, especially her children and grandchildren. To them, she was steadfast and devoted, putting nothing above their care and happiness. She taught them and so many people in her life, by example, to seek purpose and fulfillment in the pursuit of connection with and care for others.

She is survived by her husband, William D. Bryan, Jr. (Bill); and their children, Courtney Bryan and husband, Josh Shaddock of South Orange, NJ, Kathryn Bryan and husband, Stacy Burnette of Decatur, GA, and Kyle Bryan and wife, Ashley of Mobile, AL; brother, Al Lindell, III of Houston, TX; aunt, Betty Lindell of Austin, TX; grandchildren, Evie Burnette (14), Molly Shaddock (13), Sam Shaddock (9), Madison Bryan (8), Eleanor Burnette (7), and Emily Bryan (3); and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents.

A visitation service will be held on Friday, July 12, from 5-7 PM, at McCommons Funeral Home in Greensboro, GA. A funeral service and reception will be held on July 13, at 12 PM, at Lake Oconee Lutheran Church in Eatonton, GA. Memorial contributions may be made to CURE Childhood Cancer in Atlanta, GA, or Our Father's Kitchen in Greensboro, GA.