Tommy Dan Bryant, of Tuscaloosa, age 78, died at DCH Regional Medical Center on May 31, 2014.
He is survived by his wife of over 51 years, Virginia Davenport; and his five children, Raymond Edward Johnson Jr., of Jasper, Alabama, (Denise), David Randall Johnson, of Dallas, Texas, (Bridget), Kim Bryant Brown, of Nashville, Tennessee, Jane Bryant Thomas, of Franklin, Tennessee, and Rebecca Bryant Jolly, of Sandy Springs, Geogria (Pradeep).
He is predeceased by his mother, Agnes Riddell Bryant, of Florence, and his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Albert F. Davenport, of Selma.
His legacy includes 10 grandchildren, Kristi Jayne, of Tuscaloosa (Jason), Ashley Kirkland, of Tuscaloosa (Jonathan), Laura Brown, of Washington, D.C., Alex Brown, citizen of the world, Brianna, Mikaela, and Natasha Johnson, of Dallas, Texas, Cami Stamps, of Nashville, Tennessee, and Curran and Cason Jolly, of Sandy Springs, Georgia. He was also very proud of his three great-grandchildren, Brylan and Kyler Jayne, of Tuscaloosa, and Paxton Kirkland, of Tuscaloosa, and his soon-to-be great-granddaughter, Lexi Kirkland, of Tuscaloosa.
He is also survived by Mr. and Mrs. Albert F. Davenport Jr., of Irondale, and Shirley Ezell, of Moody. He had many nieces and cousins of which he was very proud.
Tom was born on May 6, 1936, in Decatur, Alabama, and grew up in Florence. He was the devoted son of Agnes Riddell Bryant. He graduated from Coffee High School in 1954. He attended the University of Alabama and then graduated from Samford University in 1960 with a pharmacy degree. He and his family made a home in Tuscaloosa where he worked for Harco Drugs. He was well known in the medical community, where his expertise as a compounding pharmacist earned him the respect of all who worked with him.
Tom was also known among friends and family as a loving, generous person. He was always willing to give of his time and was one of the pioneers in his community for donating blood. His children remember him as many things: loving father, daredevil, snake wrangler, driving instructor, ski-boat captain, and ghost hunter. But most of all, they remember that he never talked to them without telling them that he loved them.
Visitation will be at Magnolia Chapel Funeral Home in Northport on Monday, June 2, from 6-8 p.m. Graveside services will be in New Live Oak Cemetery in Selma the following morning at 11 a.m. Pallbearers will be Raymond Edward Johnson, David Randall Johnson, Pradeep Jolly, Laura Brown, Alex Brown, Jason Jayne, Jonathan Kirkland, and Cami Stamps. Honorary pallbearers will be Mr. and Mrs. James Harrison II, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Thomas, Donna and Gene Johnston Jr., the 1954 graduating class of Coffee High School, the graduating class of Samford University Pharmacy School Class of 1960, the graduating class of 1952 from Parrish High School in Selma, Alabama, all former employees of Harco Drugs, and the neighbors of Lakeridge Court in Tuscaloosa.
