Marilyn Natalie Watson Bryan

1925 - 2017

, 92, of Orlando, died peacefully on the morning of June 11, 2017 due to complications arising from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Marilyn was born on May 14, 1925, in Key West, the daughter of Roger Leman Watson and Maude Leona Parks. Marilyn grew up in Honolulu and attended Florida State University where she graduated with a degree in English. She was an active member of the Tarpons synchronized swimming team and Delta Zeta Sorority. In 1957, on a blind date, she met the love of her life, Lt. Cmdr. John Irvin Bryan. Like Marilyn, they both enjoyed the water - he being a Navy man and avid sailor and she being a swimmer. They married and raised a family in Miami where he taught junior high and she worked in the safe deposit department of Professional Savings Bank. She was a person who loved life; she was quick to laugh and always saw the best in things. Marilyn was an active member of Kendall United Methodist Church in Miami and College Park United Methodist Church in Orlando. Marilyn was well-known for her kindness to those in need. She was the sole caregiver for her mother for nearly 10 years until her death in 1983. Marilyn was preceded in death by her loving husband, John. She is survived by daughters, Betsy Hooper of Houston TX, and Amy (Charles) Cook of Orlando, granddaughters Hilary Louise Hooper, Caroline Elizabeth Hooper and Alexis Ann Hooper, grandsons Charles Bryan Cook and Owen Fielder Cook and many other relatives and close friends. A memorial service for Marilyn will be held at the College Park United Methodist Church in Orlando on Monday, November 20, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. Marilyn has requested her ashes be scattered in the Florida Keys and Key West in the same water where John's ashes were scattered 20 years ago. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society.