Cecil Farris Bryant

BRYANT Mr. Cecil Farris Bryant, 87, of Jacksonville, died March 1, 2002 at St. Vincents Hospital in Jacksonville. He was born in Ocala, Florida and moved to Jacksonville in 1965 from Tallahassee. Attorney, businessman and 34th governor of Florida, C. Farris Bryant was born in Marion County, Florida. He was married to Julia Burnett, daughter of pioneer Florida family, who predeceased him in 1996, and is survived by three daughters, Julia Felter, Cecelia Lipsey and Adair Simon and granddaughters, Lela Felter Kerly and Ceil Danielle Felter. He earned his Bachelor or Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida in 1935 and his law degree from Harvard in 1939. During World War II, he served in the Navy in the North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific. He returned to Ocala in 1946 and was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, being thereafter elected without opposition for four terms. He was elected Speaker of the House in 1953 and throughout his service received all the honors offered for legislative achievement.. In 1947 he was voted by his colleagues in the Allen Morris poll as the Most Valuable First Team Member of the House. In 1949, 1951 and 1953 he was voted to be the Most Valuable Member of the House and he capped this phrase of his public service in 1955 when the Florida legislature voted him The Most Valuable Member of the Legislature. The legislative correspondents and newspaper editors selected him in 1949, 1951 and 1955 as the Most Outstanding Member of the House of Representatives. During his years in Ocala, he served a Chairman of the Board of Stewards of the First Methodist Church, teacher of the Mens Bible Class for 15 years, President of the Marion County Chamber of Commerce, Vice President of the Florida Junior Chamber of Commerce, State Chairman of the March of Dimes Fund Drive, State Chairman of the fund drive for the American Cancer Society, served on the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, was twice selected by the Junior Chamber of Commerce as one of the five outstanding young men in Florida, and was selected by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce as one of the ten outstanding young men in America. In 1960, he was elected Governor of Florida. During his term, he led Florida to establish four universities and numerous junior colleges, founded the Florida Council of 100, initiated and secured passage of the bonding program that has provided over one billion dollars in capital funds for higher education, expanded the Interstate, Primary and Turnpike road systems and secured passage of a program for the acquisition of unique lands to preserve Floridas environment for future generations. He also served as Chairman of the Southern Governors Conference. In 1966, President Johnson appointed Bryant to head the office of Emergency Planning, as Chairman of the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, as the U.S. representative of the Civil Emergency Committee of NATO and as liaison between the President and the nations governors. In recent years, Bryant was active in the practice of law and in business, founded National Life of Florida, which evolved into a dozen insurance companies known as Voyager Group, and was active in the formation of several banks. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 5, 2002 at the Ortega United Methodist Church, 4807 Roosevelt Blvd., Jacksonville, with Dr. Barbara Williams Riddle conducting the services. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in Ocala, Florida under the direction of Roberts Funeral Homes, Downtown Chapel, 606 SW 2nd Ave., Ocala, Fla. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that the Governor be honored by donations to the Julia B. Bryant Endowment Fund, Florida State University Foundation, Tallahassee, Florida 32306.
Published in the Florida Times-Union on 3/4/2002.