Gordon W. Bryant Jr.

WAYLAND Gordon W. Butch Bryant Jr., died peacefully on Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at the MetroWest Medical Center in Natick following a brief illness. He was born in Boston on February 5, 1943, the son of the late Gordon W. Bryant Sr. and Marjorie H. (Smith) Bryant. Gordon had been a resident of Wayland for over 36 years, and spent his formative years in Braintree. He was a graduate of Milton Academy and received his B.S. in economics from Yale University. He had a long and distinguished career in the retail gift industry. He was associated as the vice president and buyer for his family bookstore, known as Lauriats Bookstore, Inc. He continued his career with Arnold G. Hawkins for many years, and they then merged their business to be Hawkins-Bryant. He served his country proudly with the United States Navy and toured the Mediterranean. He retired after over 20 years with the United States Naval Reserves. Gordon had been a longtime and active member of the Community United Methodist Church, and served on the board of trustees for the church. He was active in Boy Scouts and, at the age of 13, was awarded the Eagle Scout with the Old Colony Council in Braintree. He continued for many years as a volunteer with the Old Colony Council, the Algonquin Council and the Knox Trail Council. He had a keen interest in automobiles and was extremely knowledgeable and well read in that area. He loved to travel with his family, enjoyed camping, reading about history and spending many hours researching genealogy. He is survived by his wife, Sherry Anne (Shirley) Bryant of Wayland. He was the father of Gordon W. Bryant, III and his wife, Sue, of Ridgefield, Conn., Jonathan A. Bryant and his wife, Lauren, of Somerville and Christopher S. Bryant of Wayland. He was the grandfather of Nicholas C., Connor T. and William J. Bryant, all of Ridgefield, Conn. He is also survived by his two sisters, Cynthia McCue and her husband, Homer, of North Chatham and Judith Hale of Westport. Visitations will be held on Friday, April 25, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. in the Bryant Memorial Chapel of the John C. Bryant Funeral Home, 56 Pemberton Road (off Rte. 30), Wayland. At the request of his family, interment will be private. A Celebration of his life will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, at the Community United Methodist Church, corner of Damon and Main streets, Cochituate Village, Wayland. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that memorial donations in his memory be sent to BSA, Knox Trail Council, 490 Union Ave., Framingham, MA 01702 or to a local BSA supporting scouting in the donors area.