Ora "Loiese" Bryan

The party has started in earnest, but you have not been invited. It is not that you are not loved, cherished, or respected by her, or her family. You and I have simply not graduated, and graduation is a requirement for attending the party for which Ora Loiese Smith-Bryan is being honored. On the morning of September 11, 2020, Loiese Bryan graduated her ninety-second year of study in this classroom we call earth. Today, she is in the presence of Almighty God. We undergraduates know this because, “to be absent the body, is to be present with the Lord.”

Other party goers seated at Loiese’s table include: her husband of fifty-nine years, Charles William Bryan; her daughter, Glenda Sue Bryan; her father, James Olie Smith and her mother, Vivian Whinery-Smith. Relatives through marriage include: her father-in-law, William Austin Bryan; and her mother-in-law, Eva Mae Howard-Bryan. Seated at surrounding tables are scores of grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws and a multitude of other family members and friends.
We undergraduates are also in celebration of the life she lived, and of the lessons she taught to us in various classrooms, especially we lucky ones who learned in her arms and at her feet. We thank God that He showed us our knowledge of Loiese Bryan. One of the biggest differences in the two celebrations are the tears we underclassmen are experiencing at her loss.

She is survived by three of her four children: her son Robert Glen Bryan and his wife Linda Kathleen Robbins-Bryan; her daughter Donna Lee Bryan-Lee and her husband Everett Duane Lee; and her son Ronald Howard Bryan. She is survived by four grandchildren: (1) Nicole Bryan-Valcarcel Ramon, her husband Cesar Valcarcel Ramon, and their two daughters; (2) Kristine Lynette Bryan-Dayton, her husband Chris Dayton Phd., their daughter, and two sons; (4) David Duane Lee and his wife Kristi Starosta-Lee, and one son, and one daughter; (4) Denise Joy Lohilani Lee-Capps, her husband David Capps, their two daughters, and one son.

Loiese was born on February 6, 1928, in San Jon, New Mexico. She was the sixth child of the seven children born to and raised by her parents, James Olie and Vivian Whinery-Smith. The family moved to Texas and then to Arkansas. When she was ten, the family made a major move to the Western slope of Colorado. There, in 1946, she graduated high school in Delta county, Colorado. Her roots were planted in Colorado.
She and her older sister, Joy, left Colorado to study at a small church school in Waxahachie, Texas, called Southwestern Assembly of God College. After her first year of college, she went back home to Colorado and sat out a semester. After returning to school, she was forced to attend summer school at the college in order to complete her degree plan. Needing to find off-campus lodgings for the summer, she met the Bryan’s, who rented her one of the bedrooms in their home. On one of her first weekends with the Bryan’s, the family’s son, Bill who was living in Dallas at the time, came home for a visit. The next week he mysteriously moved back home to Waxahachie.

On December 26, 1948, Ora Loiese Smith was married to Charles William “Bill” Bryan in Hotchkiss, Colorado. The newlyweds moved to Fort Worth, Texas, as Bill had started a new job at General Dynamics. They moved to various apartments and houses around Fort Worth. In January 1950, Robert Glen Bryan was added to the family.
Loiese’s new father-in-law was a General Contractor, and a very generous man. He pooled together all the resources and favors he could muster, and built the newlyweds a house in Waxahachie. As they were ready to move into the new house, Glenda Sue Bryan joined the family in January 1951. Donna Lee Bryan was born January 1953, which helped to fill up the little house. With work located fifty miles away, it didn’t take long for the distance to impact Bill’s love of the new house. All three of the children had been born in Waxahachie at grandma and grandpa Bryan’s house. Bill and Loiese sold the little house in Waxahachie and moved back to Fort Worth.

In the mid-1950’s the Bryan’s bought a new house on the northeast side of Fort Worth, in North Richland Hills, Texas. In May 1959, Loiese gave birth to Ronald Howard Bryan, in a hospital, of all places! Grandma’s house was out of business!
Now, entering the 1960’s, the Bryan’s had been married for over a decade. Bill still worked at General Dynamics - also called “Air Force Plant 4.” The United States lived in tension with the Soviet Union, and all of a sudden with Cuba. The family had made plans to meet in Denton if there was trouble. Bill and Loiese had discussed what might happen to Loiese and the children, if something bad were to happen to Bill. So plans were made to add stability to the family.

After discussions, it was decided that Loiese would go back to school to get her teaching degree. The three older kids would look after themselves, help around the house, and help take care of Ronnie. Over the next few years, Loiese started school part-time at North Texas State University in Denton, Texas, while remaining chief cook, housecleaner, laundry lady, mother, doctor and housewife. In 1964 Loiese graduated from NTSU, and was hired by Birdville Independent School District as a fifth-grade teacher. Loiese was now everything mentioned before, plus a teacher and wage earner. She continued her college education during the summers, as she worked towards her Master’s degree. In January 1966 the Bryan’s moved a few miles east, buying a new house in Hurst, Texas. Loiese remained in this house until her death.
After twenty (20) years of service, Loiese retired from teaching in 1984. She had always taught fifth grade - I guess you can’t teach some people.

Loiese had great skills as a seamstress. Making her own clothes, and those of her daughters. She added to her skills by reading, trial and error, and a few sewing classes she took along the way. She also made costumes for plays and the holidays; she even made Donna’s wedding dress. She mended, lengthened, cut jeans into shorts, made curtains, tablecloths, or whatever was needed. She either knew how to do it, or was confident enough to make the attempt.

Loiese loved art in every form. She had talent in her hands that were a direct gift from God. She was a talented painter - oils, acrylics, water colors, tempera, and/or house paint. She could tie string, yarn, rope, and other media with a hook, tool, or with her bare hands. She would crochet, needlepoint, piece together quilts, macramé, and/or work with beads.

In the early 1970’s Bill and Loiese decided to create a business together – a souvenir shop in Silverton, Colorado. A Narrow-gage train runs through the Rocky Mountains, drawing thousands of people. Bill had lived in Silverton as a child. His grandfather had been town doctor, and his grandparents are buried in Hillside Cemetery, in Silverton. “The Burlap Shoppe” sold souvenirs, popcorn, candles, and arts and crafts – made by Loiese and Bill, or purchased from specialty shops. Loiese sewed various sized bean bag “frogs”, which she made from a pattern. She sewed, she painted, she created, and she modified so many of the products which were sold, plus she and two of her children ran the store during her summer vacation from school. The store was open during the summers from 1971 to 1973.

Loiese brought the bean bag frogs back to life in the 2000’s, this time filling them with rice. They could be frozen or micro-waved, depending on the pain needing to be relieved. The idea was Bill’s (of course) but the labor was Loiese’ (of course). Together they were attempting to find an idea to help a missions cause that was close to their hearts.

Travel was one of Loiese’s greatest loves. Throughout their lives, domestic travel was something that they could do with the four children crammed in the back of a Rambler station wagon. In the 1970’s Loiese and Bill began to extend their travels a bit. Their daughter, Donna, married and moved to Hawaii in 1974. As the Hawaiian branch of the family grew, so did the visits to Hawaii. Their other daughter, Glenda, began working for American Airlines, making travels cheaper, and giving them an in-family travel agent to boot.

Bill and Loiese travelled the word: Far East, Africa, South America, and Central America. They traveled on their own (for the most part), staying at bargain room rates, and eating deli fixings in their room or at local parks, so they had more money to experience the local fair. They traveled most of the time via standby; always keeping a bag packed so they could leave at the drop of a hat; and remaining open for anything. All of this made traveling one of their greatest joys.

The only thing left out of our story of Loiese Bryan so far, is the greatest part of her life. Loiese loved God, and in turn, God loved her, and blessed her. She and Bill shared this love, and over the course of their marriage they brought up their children in church. Teaching them service to God. They gave their first fruits to God. The first money received in their household belonged to God, and was consecrated, and given to the service of God. There are thousands of souls in heaven because of the mission minded hearts of Bill and Loiese.

So happy graduation Mama! We love you and will miss you but know you are better off where you are. We know you have graduated Magna Cum Laude! Congratulations!
Due to the Corona Virus, a funeral service will be held at a later date, allowing as many underclassmen as possible to attend. A gravesite burial service will occur at 10:00 am Friday, September 18, 2020 at Lonesome Dove Cemetery, 2380 Lonesome Dove, Southlake, Texas.