Nyla Bryan Woody gently transferred her residence to the Golden City in Glory on the morning of August 5th, 2020 with her daughter by her side. She was born in Clay Center, Kansas on October 18, 1937 to Marshall & Thelma Bryan. She lived in Kansas until she graduated high school, attended briefly at K State and then relocated to Oklahoma where she met the love of her life, her surviving husband of 63 years, Randolph Marshall Woody. They married on August 3, 1957. Together they shared their first born child, a son, Edwin Marshall Woody, of Pottsboro, TX., recently deceased, and their surviving daughter, Ronda Elaine England, of Whiteville, TN. She is preceded in death by her parents, a beloved brother, Nevin, her “Grammy” who help raise her, her beloved son, Edwin, her sweet nephew, Scott Bryan, and four precious grandchildren, Mariah, Gabriel, Nathaniel, and Heather Marie (who was also a best friend!). She is survived by her honorable husband, Randy, her daughter, Ronda and son-in-law Darrin England, daughter-in-law Kimmy, beloved grandchildren Owen Marshall Woody with Natasha Kingston, and Bryanna Asriel Ruesche with husband Brendan Ruesche, beloved brother and sister-in-law Jedwin and Patricia Bryan, beloved niece Laura Bryan, and other extended family and friends, who were as family. Nyla enjoyed a long career in accounting and purchasing for the Shell Oil Co. and, after retirement, often jokingly said that through her pension, “they keep paying me to not come there!” Her work was something she found rewarding and satisfying. She remained close to many of her former coworkers until her death. Nyla welcomed and embraced life with unequaled energy and passion. She loved beauty and vibrant colors and strived to create a welcoming space around her family. She practiced counting blessings and cultivating gratitude. She spent time writing essays and letters to capture moments and thoughts and share them. She was strongly opinionated, but she was also teachable. She was active in her church for all the years she was physically able and loved serving her Lord Jesus as part of His body. She also cultivated other interests and activities. She was a talented seamstress, and enjoyed many other hobbies and activities throughout her life, including: flower gardening and just all things floral, needlepoint, birding, docent work at a couple of Oklahoma nature centers teaching the community and children about conservation and wildlife habitat. She also enjoyed years of bike riding, hiking, walking, traveling, especially to National and State parks, avid book reading, especially studying history; she loved Kansas and Oklahoma college football and basketball and was a Super-fan of the St. Louis Cardinals! She loved sports cars and driving Fast! She loved cooking, baking and tea parties. She loved the Bible and journaling her reflections with detail and a unique perspective. She loved people and collected friends like others collect prized artwork. Her gift of hospitality was remarkable and something everyone who was blessed to walk through her door experienced. She was a nurturing soul who gave what she needed: companionship, friendship, hugs, time, connection. Though not wealthy, she was extravagantly generous to the people and charities she loved. Nyla B. lived a full and joyful life, valuing faith, family, and friends.This faithful wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin, friend will be dearly missed, forever loved, If you missed knowing her, you really missed someone exceptional and worth loving. Nyla would ask that you keep faith in Jesus, hold fast to what is honorable, and invest in what is eternal: relationships. (John 3:16) The family request memorials be made to the Chromosome 18 Registry and Research: (http://donate.chromosome18.org) or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, P.O. Box 1000-Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38101-9908 or Samaritan’s Purse (http://www.samaritanspurse.org). All arrangements and services are under the direction of the Lea & Simmons Funeral Home in Brownsville, TN.
