Charles Duvall Bryant Sr.

BRYANT Charles Duvall Sr., 83, dearly loved husband, dad and "Pop-Pop," passed into a new life at 2 p.m. Sunday, October 26, 2008, with his family at his bedside at home, after a valiant fight with a brief illness. Generous to a fault and sought widely by family and friends for his sensible advice and helpful hand, Charlie lived every day seeking fulfillment and happiness in giving to others and appreciating the simple joys of life. An avid gardener, Charlie shared his own unique arrangements of zinnias and roses with many. A handsome, graceful ballroom dancer, he led a circle of men who danced regularly with the ladies of Westminster Canterbury Retirement Home, and he danced an exquisite cha-cha and foxtrot with his wife for years in the Candlelight and Ollie Cats Dance Clubs. A great lover of music, Charlie instilled melody in each of his four grandchildren with gifts of the finest guitars and banjos and his rhythmic gene. A lifelong tennis player, Charlie passed that talent to his son, daughter and grandchildren and was a loyal cheerleader at their tournaments for decades. Charlie's working career began at age 12, as a newspaper delivery boy, both morning and afternoon, in his native Roanoke, Va. A volunteer for the Navy Air Corps in World War II, he flew in a patrol bomber as a radio-radar operator and tail gunner. He later joined the Coast Guard Reserves, serving as a commander for the Eastern Region. After graduating with a B.S. in accounting from Virginia State University, Charles was a payroll clerk with the N&W Railroad. Following a successful and gratifying 30-year career as a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service, Charles served a 10-year stint as a financial investigator in white-collar crime with the Virginia State Police. He shared his expertise and passion for law enforcement as a guest lecturer nationwide with the Battel Institute and also taught related courses at J. Sargeant Reynold's and VCU. Surviving Charlie are the loves of his life, his wife, Frances Bible Bryant; his son, Charles Duvall Bryant Jr. and wife, Judith, of Portland, Maine; his daughter, Anne-Merle Bryant and her husband, Joe Amatisto, of Richmond; his daughter, Lorrie White and her husband, John White, and their children, Emma, Ellie, Gracie and John Charles. The family gives gracious thanks to Maggie Watkins, his loving caregiver in the hospital, and the caring physicians and nurses. To celebrate the life of Charlie, the family will hold a private memorial. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions sent in memory of Mr. Charles Bryant to Collegiate School, Moreland Rd., Richmond, Va. 23229. The school will use these contributions to build a lasting remembrance of "Pop-Pop" for his four lovely grandchildren, who each treasured a special relationship with their grandfather.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.