Mary G. Bryan

MARY GERTRUDE BRYAN (nee Holley), 79, retired State of Maryland employee, passed away at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) in Towson, Maryland, on May 2, 2003, of heart failure. She was 79. She was born on August 31, 1923, in Scotland, Maryland, to Mary Bertha Ford Tillman and raised by James and Ada Holley, who operated a farm in Cornfield Harbor (now part of Point Lookout State Park). She attended the Carver School in St. Marys County. Instead of attending Maryland State College (now the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore), which had offered her a scholarship, she wed Joseph Webster Bryan on November 8, 1940. Her husband died on September 4, 1974. From this union were born eight children: Holley Mae Bryan (deceased); Doris Marie Tanner of Richmond, California; T. J. Bryan of Parkton, Maryland; Joseph Edward Bryan (deceased); Gloria Ragler of Baltimore, Maryland; Bertha Collins of Baltimore, Maryland; Mary Alice Bryan of Owings Mills, Maryland; and Myrtle E. B. Dorsey of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Except for a brief period when she worked and lived in Washington, DC, she lived in Maryland-in St. Marys County from birth to 1958 and in the Greater Baltimore area from 1958 to the present. She was employed outside the home during most of her adult life. She and her husband owned a general store in West Baltimore for many years. From the early 1970s to January 31, 1987, she was employed at Rosewood State Hospital. She was the embodiment of strength and independence. Although she did not attend college herself, she was a firm believer in the importance of higher education. A role model, she inspired two of her daughters to earn doctoral degrees. One of her granddaughters is an attorney. In addition to her six daughters and two sons-in-law,David G. Preston of Parkton, Maryland, and Frank Tanner of Richmond, California, she is survived by four grandchildren: Kimberly D. Bryan of Baltimore, Maryland; Christine J. Warren of Owings Mills, Maryland; Anthony Collins of Baltimore, Maryland; Bryan David Preston of Towson, Maryland; and one grandson-in-law, Anthony Warren. She has one great grandson, Austin Christopher Warren of Owings Mills, Maryland. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, May 6, 2003, at St. Lukes United African Methodist Episcopal Church, 12880 Point Lookout Road, Scotland, Maryland, at 1:00 p.m., where she remained a member. A repast in the church hall will follow immediately. The Mary G. Bryan Scholarship for a first-generation undergraduate student from Southern Maryland has been created at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Contributions to the scholarship fund may be sent to P. O. Box 1603, Owings Mills, Maryland 21117. Checks should be made payable to the Mary G. Bryan Scholarship Fund. Credit-card contributions may be made by telephoning Morgan State University at (443) 885-3040; the account representative is Ms. Cheryl Hitchcock.