Olivia J. Bryan's Obituary
Olivia Judson Bryan (September 28, 1920 – October 3, 2009). Born in Hwai Yuen, China, to Presbyterian missionary parents who themselves had been born in China to their own missionary parents, Olivia lived in China until May, 1927, when the family returned to the United States. Her father, a medical doctor who had established and operated a hospital in Lingchow while in China, took up radiology as a specialty. The family ended up in southern California, and at about the same time Olivia was graduating from Santa Monica High School, her father became part of the fledgling Radiology Department at Long Beach Community Hospital.
Olivia attended the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, where she met fellow student Glenn Bryan as part of a dance event where the girls invited the boys. Following mid-year graduation, the two were married on January 3, 1943 in Long Beach, California, after which Glenn entered the U.S. Army. As a corporal, Glenn was sent to Germany for ground combat, while Olivia remained in Long Beach working at the newly opened Douglas Aircraft plant there. Glenn was wounded in combat by a German tank shell, and sent home to recover in a military hospital in North Carolina, where Olivia joined him.
After Glenn was back on his feet, the two returned to southern California, where Glenn enrolled in graduate studies in Psychology at the University of Southern California, and Olivia taught in elementary school. Glenn received his Ph.D. in 1952, the same year that their oldest son, Geoffrey, was born. Two more boys, Bradley (b. 1953) and William (b. 1957) came along shortly thereafter.
In 1960, Glenn took a civilian position with the Psychological Sciences Division of the Office of Naval Research in Washington, D.C., and the family moved east, settling in Bethesda, Maryland. Over the next two decades, a procession of internationally renowned scientists and researchers, who were in town to meet with Glenn professionally, came to the house for a home-cooked spaghetti dinner prepared by Olivia.
Glenn retired in 1983, and the two spent the following years traveling around the country in their motor home. Within a few years, they sold their Bethesda house and moved full-time to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and have remained in the area ever since.
Olivia was active throughout her life in P.E.O. International, an organization dedicated to advancing educational opportunities for women. She is survived by her husband Glenn, her sister Jenny Seaman, her sons Geoffrey, Bradley, and William, grandchildren Kelly, Keith, Alice, and Christopher, and great-grandson Simon.
A very remarkable and loving woman, Olivia will be sorely missed by scores of friends and relatives whose lives were touched by her.
A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 1:00 PM, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 301 King Charles Street, Rehoboth Beach, DE, with the Rev. Dr. Frank Deming, Jr. officiating. Friends may call at the church beginning at 12:00 PM. Entombment will be at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA, on Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 1:00 PM. Arrangements are being handled by Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Lewes, DE.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Westminster Presbyterian Church Elevator Fund at the above noted address.
Sign guestbook at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com
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