Gaylord Bryan

1927 - 2015

Gaylord Bryan
May 1, 1927 - April 26, 2015
Resident of Lincoln, California
Gaylord passed away peacefully on April 26th with family at his side in Lincoln, California. Gaylord is survived by his wife Nancy, children Bob, Jim, Rick, Susan, Shari, and Scott, as well as 13 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Gaylord, the son of L.E. "Pat" Bryan and Irma Bryan was preceded in death by his brother Bob in 1952. Pat was a well known educator and football coach at Pittsburg high school in the 1930's and early 40's.
Gaylord was born in Berkeley, California and graduated from Stanford University in 1952 where he was a tremendous track and field athlete known as "Iron Bryan". He was a four-time National Champion in the triple jump and won a Gold Medal in the 1951 Pan American Games in Argentina. He married Sherre Martin in 1952 and they moved to Concord where they raised their three sons and he taught physical education at Diablo Valley College. During his 37 years at DVC, he was active in coaching four different sports over his career. He led the school (then named East Contra Costa Junior College) to their first ever men's basketball conference title in 1954. He also spent many years coaching track and cross country, with a short stint coaching softball. In the 1960's and 1970's, Gaylord was a fixture in the local sports community as both a basketball and football referee. He moved on to officiating college football in the original PAC-8 and officiated numerous post season games including several East West Shrine Games, Fiesta Bowls, and two Rose Bowls. After retiring from college officiating, Gaylord spent time as a National Football League Replay Official. Gay was a long time member of Stanford University's Athletic Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Diablo Valley College Hall of Fame in 2013.
Gaylord and wife Nancy, who also retired from DVC, were married in 1976 and over the years lived in San Ramon, Folsom, and Lincoln. They spent many memorable summers at their vacation home in South Lake Tahoe and during the winter months in Arizona. Gaylord was quite a presence and a positive and memorable influence on people around him including those who he had, taught, coached, and worked with. Gaylord will be greatly missed by all those who knew him and loved him. He and Nancy have requested no services.