Obituary of Joseph Shepard Bryan Sr ~ 1974

Source: Dunn Daily Record Nov 4 1974

Prominent Dunn Attorney, Educator, Rotary Leader J. Shepard Bryan, Sr., 
80, Dies Here; Rites Tuesday 

J. Shepard Bryan, Sr., 80, prominent Dunn attorney, former educator and 
State-wide Rotary leader, died Sunday night about 6 o'clock in Betsy 
Johnson Memorial Hospital in Dunn.
Mr. Bryan had been a patient at the hospital for ten days after suffering 
a severe heart attack. He practiced law right up to the day he was 
stricken. He was preparing to leave home for his office when the attack 
occurred.
One of Dunn's most distinguished and most beloved citizens, Mr. Bryan had 
played an important role in affairs of the town and county since he moved 
to Dunn in 1926.
He was the father of Robert C. Bryan, a partner in the prestigeous law 
firm which he headed here, and was also the father of J. Shepard Bryan, 
Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., vice president and chief legal counsel for the 
huge Winn-Dixie food chain.
Mr. Bryan was a former Dunn High School principal and after entering the 
full-time practice of law served for many years as Dunn's city attorney 
and also as solicitor of the Dunn Recorder's Court.
He was a former District Governor of Rotary International when the big 
district covered most of the entire State. He was the first Dunn Rotarian 
ever to attain this high honor.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday afternoon at 3 o'clock at the Divine 
Street United Methodist Church. Dr. Robert McKee, pastor, will officiate. 
Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery here.
Pallbearers will be Palmer Davis, John Strickland, and four of his law 
partners, Robert H. Jones, Mac Hunter, James McDaniel Johnson and K. 
Edward Greene. The body is at Cromartie Funeral Home.
Members of the Harnett County Bar Association will attend the services in 
a body in tribute to Mr. Bryan, who was one of the oldest lawyers in 
Harnett.
Mr. Bryan was a native of Wilmington, son of the late Robert Kedar and 
Gertrude Foy Shepard Bryan.
He was a graduate of Horner Military Academy at Oxford and in 1915 
graduated from the University of North Carolina.
Mr. Bryan was an Army veteran of World War I and after the war took an 
active part in the the American Legion and veterans' affairs.
His varied career included service as a newspaper reporter for the Wilson 
Daily Times. He later served as a contributing editor to Dunn newspapers.
Mr. Bryan served as principal of the Charles L. Coon High School at Wilson 
and as principal of the Hemenway Elementary School at Wilmington before 
coming to Dunn. Under his leadership, the Hemenway School achieved 
recognition as one of the top elementary schools in the State.
He served for ten years, 1936 to 1937, as principal of the Dunn School 
District when the district included all five schools in Averasboro Township.
In 1937, Mr. Bryan resigned as superintendent of the Dunn school system 
and began the full-time practice of law.
He founded the law firm which has grown to become the largest in Harnett 
and one of the largest in the area, Bryan, Jones, Johnson, Hunter, and 
Greene. Mr. Bryan was the senior member of the law firm and was still 
active until entering the hospital.
Mr. Bryan was widely known in legal circles of the State. He had served 
as president of the Harnett County Bar Association, was also active in 
the district and State Bar Associations.
During World War II, he served as an attorney with the Office of Price 
Administration.
Mr. Bryan was also active in alumni affairs of the Greater University of 
North Carolina and had served as chairman of the Harnett County Morehead 
Scholarship Committee ever since the scholarship was established. He was 
the oldest living member of the University of North Carolina Pi Kappa 
Phi Fraternity and had been scheduled to be honored by the fraternity at 
an early date.
Outside of his law practice, Mr. Bryan's great interest was his work in 
helping select candidates for the Morehead scholarship in Harnett. 
Because of his efforts, Harnett is believed to have had more Morehead 
scholars than any other county its size in the State.
A longtime leader in Divine Street Methodist Church, Mr. Bryan had held 
practically every lay office in the church. He had taught the Men's Wesley 
Bible Class at the church for over 30 years.
Messages of condolence and tributes from friends across the State were 
pouring in today to members of the family.
Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Anna Cavenaugh Bryan, who also served as 
principal in the Dunn schools; two sons, J. Shepard Bryan, Jr. of 
Jacksonville, Fla., and Robert C. Bryan of Dunn; also eight grandchildren.





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