Bessie Doris McMillan Bryan passed away, surrounded by her daughters, on December 20, 2017 in Winter Haven, Florida, at the age of 88 years.
A graveside service will be held for Doris at 3:00 p.m. Friday, December 29, 2017, at Oak Ridge Cemetery, where she will be laid to rest next to her beloved Candler.
Doris was born July 23, 1929 in Enigma to James Leonard McMillan and Lula Owens McMillan. As a young adult, she lived in Tifton and worked as a bookkeeper at The Big Store. She moved to Lake Wales, Florida, in 1958 and later moved to Winter Haven after marrying Warren "Candler" Bryan, a businessman from Tifton and long-time family friend, on June 28, 1959.
A traditional southern Christian woman, she was known by many names: Bessie, Bessie-Doris, Doris, “Scrap”, Granny, Great-Granny, Mrs. Bryan, and Mama. Depending on where you knew her from, and your relationship with her, the people in her life instinctively knew to address her with the proper degree of respect or familial title. To those who knew her, she had a way of drawing out either the gentleman or the lady in a person, simply by being present. She was a Christian lady, a philanthropist, a lover of books and doughnuts, a singer of lullabies, a kitchen commander, a warm hostess, and a content observer of the beautiful family she helped to create and inspire.
Doris was a member of Beymer Memorial United Methodist Church since moving to Winter Haven in 1959, and a member of United Methodist Women. She was an active member of Church Women United (CWU), serving in unit officer positions as both President and Treasurer, and was the recipient of the prestigious CWU Valiant Woman award for her dedication to the organization and to the Lord.
Mrs. Bryan is pre-deceased by her husband, Warren Candler Bryan and four sisters. She is survived by one brother, James Leonard McMillan Jr. of Enigma; one step-daughter, Jackie Bryan Perrin of Tallahassee, Florida; and three daughters, Teresa Bryan Brantley of Dundee, Florida, Linda Bryan-Beachler of Myakka City, Florida and Marie Bryan Mixon of Winter Haven, Florida. She has 12 grandchildren with great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us. ~ Helen Keller