", T Bryant has been married for 50 years to UA classmate Cherry Handley Hicks Bryant. Bryant is a family man: He has been married to his wife, Cherry, since 1966, and they have three daughters all UA graduates and three grandchildren. The Birmingham News. In his hospital room, Bryant was joking with the nurses. "Paul 'Bear' Bryant was my great-grandfather," the eighth-grader said with pride as he sat in his great-grandfather's museum, in a conference room decorated with oil paintings, bronze busts and even a marionette of the man behind his name. They put him on night traffic, and that first winter, he caught pneumonia. He pauses. Bryant Jr. also has clear ties to a federal insurance fraud case that drew a 15-year prison sentence for Allen W. Bryant moved on to other business interests, keeping a close-knit group of partners in late attorney and civic leader Sam Phelps and his son, Scott, along with veterinarian Wayne May. "This is Alabama football. Paul William Bryant Jr. Born: c. 1945: Alma mater: University of Alabama: Occupation: Banker, investor, philanthropist: Children: 3 daughters: Parent(s) Bear Bryant: See something missing? Trump says he's not a celebrity, he's a president after Mike Pompeo "[1] He is worth "hundreds of millions of dollars. A funeral procession three miles long, consisting of more than 300 cars and six buses carrying Bryant's last University of Alabama team and many of his former players, drove the 60 miles to Birmingham behind the white hearse after funeral services in Tuscaloosa. Billy always walked a few feet in front of Bryant, for reasons he's trying to recall. About how Billy left her alone a lot of the time, how he gave up his life like Bryant did and how Billy never got to enjoy his retirement, either. Later that night, she'd get the inevitable call. Knowles began canceling the next two weeks of Coach's schedule. [3], Bryant founded the People's Bank in the late 1960s,[1] and later sold it. To his left, surrounded by the small frames, is a large photograph of Bear Bryant at the 1982 Liberty Bowl, sicker than anyone but Billy and a few others knew, bundled tight against the cold. T February 22, 1991 to January 2, 1993. For all his business success, Bryant said in the interview that as a young man he had wanted to follow his father into coaching. The Leader was a Republican, society-based evening edition, and the Herald a more political, heavily Democratic morning edition. I enjoy those, have a lot of them around the house. He'd get out. Billy tells Susie that he talks to the coach. ", Overhearing this exchange was yet another teenager, Bryant Denny Turner, whose parents dared to go even a step further and give their son the name of the legendary Alabama football coach and the name of the arena where the Bear did his homework, Denny Stadium. Paul William Bryant (1913 - 1983) - Genealogy - geni family tree Throughout his time on the board, he was a member of the Physical Properties Committee including nine years as chairman, during which more than 360 physical properties projects were completed with a total value exceeding $2 billion. Breaking down the latest in 2024 football recruiting, from top commits to March visits, The Turnover Luck Index: Rating every 2022 team, from USC to Rutgers, Kiper's updated NFL mock draft: Who's moving up for a QB? We give 100 percent around here. Don Siegelman moved in 2000 to have Bryant considered for the board, some legislators protested, saying the vacant seat had been promised to be filled by an alumnus of the UA system's Birmingham campus, UAB. Married with three daughters, Bryant is known to be a student of American history, especially the Civil War. He is survived by his wife Sylvia Mohamed-Bryant, parents Paul Dean Bryant Sr.. You get a job out there you would have made $50 more a month. He said he had to rest. Bryant's son, Paul Bryant Jr., remembers his father's birthday more than the anniversary of his death, but for most Alabama fans, everything changed "the day Bear Bryant died." There's even a song . She plays it sometimes. Our bank that we've got now, he said, we started to try to be in communities where my family lives and will live and have it kind of be a legacy thing to be involved in the community stuff that your community banks do. In 1977, Bryant opened GreeneTrack, a dog racing track in Greene County. Everyone gifted with some version of Coach's moniker wears a nametag, so as to keep them all straight. The living room takes up the front of the house, with a television at one end and, on the wall, a poem about footsteps in the sand, which ends with God telling a follower: "The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.". With the nomination tied up in the Legislature, trustee Frank Bromberg decided to resign, which allowed Bryant to fill the sixth district slot in April 2000. He'd eaten some sausage, and it upset his stomach is all. "He's young all the time here," Billy says. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. But many mourners wore crimson and white, the colors of the Crimson Tide. He is survived by his wife Sylvia Mohamed-Bryant, parents Paul Dean Bryant Sr.. He saw him cry. "We knew he'd been offered a lot of money to write a book or help make a movie," says Linda Knowles, Bryant's longtime secretary, "and he would have none of that. You can reach up and feel it. "Then," he added, "I'll do the same with Paul.". The database includes around 700 names, and the museum manages to track most of their whereabouts via both old-school correspondence and newfangled social media. The John C. Wyatt photographs (LHL) consist of an estimated 2 million unique photographic negatives spanning the years 1939-2001. Before every Alabama home game, the big video board plays clips of Bryant talking, sounding like he ate a carton of Chesterfields. (AP Photo/Joe Holloway Jr.), Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's widow, Mary Harmon Bryant is helped out of the car at graveside in Birmingham, Ala., Jan. 28, 1983. [13], He is married, and has three daughters. We thought we'd do that for the grandchildren and stuff, and there's some responsibility that goes with that, I guess.. The extended family includes about a dozen hunting dogs, who are kept at Bryant's farm in Greene County. He'll dress in the middle of the night and try to leave, his pajamas rolled up in his hand. Paul William Bryant Jr (born December 19, 1944 in Birmingham) is a Tuscaloosa businessman and chairman of the Crimson Tide Foundation. nyttksemme sinulle kohdennettuja mainoksia ja sislt kiinnostusprofiileiden perusteella, mitataksemme kohdennettujen mainosten ja sisltjen tehokkuutta. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. During these years, he served three successive terms as President Pro Tempore. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Mourning fans at Paul "Bear" Bryant's funeral. There's the framed photograph of Bryant on a football field for the final time, with a "Thanks for the Memories" sign in the background. [13] Stewart was found guilty on all 135 counts of fraud. Standing before the exhibit, she can hear his voice all around her, literally, from the museum's video displays. This isn't a celebration. He told me one time, if somebody comes up and shoots me, they're gonna shoot you first. They hoped that through him they might better understand the coach. From 2000 to 2015, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama System. Bryant is survived by his wife, Mary Harmon Bryant; a son, Paul Bryant Jr.; a daughter, Mae Martin Bryant Tyson; three sisters, Bessie Goolsby of Nashville, Tenn., Carrie Hatcher of. Bryant said that purpose in starting the bank was to create a community bank like the ones that existed in Tuscaloosa when he was younger. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Woman and child mourn the death of Coach "Bear" Bryant. Coach Pat Dye talks with unknown person. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). You want a window into Bear Bryant's power in the state of Alabama? Since then, Moore says, daughters of Joe Namath and Ken Stabler have attended Alabama on . Alabama-Man mourns at Coach "Bear" Bryant's funeral site. Health facilities -- Kentucky -- Lexington. He's a 1978 national champion. ph, Casket of Alabama coach Paul Bear Bryant at the Elwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Ala. Friday Jan. 28, 1983. "It was so quiet. Take a look inside former Bear Bryant home up for sale I didn't do either of those. Married with three daughters, Bryant is known to be a student of American history, especially the Civil War. Several red and white banners reading 'We Love You, Bear' flapped from interstate overpasses as the motorcade rolled by. She shot back: "I thought all my cornbread was good!" The illness forced him to miss a year of school and the after-effects zapped his strength to play the game his father coached. Paul 'Bear' Bryant's gift that keeps on giving at Alabama University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center. The young people in the photo above waited at a tombstone, while those in the photo below watched television coverage of the funeral at Tuscaloosa. Billy's voice drops back down, and the words press together, a slurry of confusion and rearranged thoughts, part truth, part fiction. QB Bennett addresses off-field issues at combine, Stroud says he's top player, defends run ability, Alabama QB Young undeterred by size questions, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. Otherwise, we'd have no idea what was what and who was where.". George Wallace and former Washington Redskins Coach George Allen, representing President Reagan, were among the 400 dignataries, family members and friends who packed the church for the rites. Paul Bryant Jr., a banker and the coach's only son, says his father established the fund in 1973. . YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. A crowd of 5,000 -- many dressed as though for an Alabama football game -- watched in eerie silence as the grim-faced young pallbearers carried Bryant's flower-blanketed casket to the grave. Members of the 1982 football team carry the casket of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant from the Tuscaloosa First Methodist Church in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Friday, Jan. 29, 1983. In addition, he chaired the committee that hired Dr. Robert Witt, past President of The University of Alabama and retired Chancellor of The University of Alabama System. "Bryant." It was perhaps the most oddly attired gathering of mourners the cemetery had ever seen. B Paul 'Bear' Bryant's name persists in Alabama fans The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Collectively, it saved 41,000 acres of battlefield land in over 120 states during Bryants board tenure. Paul Bryant's dedicated service and leadership have been invaluable to the board of trustees and to the University of Alabama System, Witt said. "[12] In 2001. a committee of trustees met in secret, just one day after a court barred Auburn's board of trustees from doing the same thing. "It's really important to the state that we have a successful football program. She settles in front of the exhibit of his office, the soft black-and-white couch players hated because they'd sink further and further down, the white telephone, the wide wooden desk. [1] He co-authored two books about American football in 2013. [5] He also serves as the President of Green Group, Inc.[6], Bryant invests in "dog and horse racing, the insurance industry, cement making, catfish farming and banking. He not only participated in the creation of this visual resource but he was also responsible for the organization and intellectual control of the collection. ", These are the stories she can tell. Regularly, he refuses to believe that his old boss isn't at home waiting for a ride. It follows the changing urban landscape of Lexington, the agricultural, tobacco and horse racing industries, key national events such as World War II and Vietnam, as well as notable regional and national figures. 2/28/2023 6:52 PM PT. Billy was Bear Bryant's driver, bodyguard and valet, one of the few remaining people who knew him as a human being. Jack Rutledge asked carefully. He is a man. Her voice sounds exactly like that of comedienne Wanda Sykes, and Susie, in real life and in the pictures around the house, wears a little smirk, as if she knows something you don't know. "I'm not sure I've enjoyed all of it. No, no. The walls are covered with certificates and mementos of his service. The Bear, the rough-faced legend on the video board, was predestined to be great. "But unlike his dad who was a larger than life figure, the son is among the most private of men, largely a mystery to many, despite leading the public board of the state's largest public university, a position that creates a spotlight. (AP Photo/Tannen Maury), Football star Joe Namath talks with the widow of Alabama coach Paul Bear Bryant at the Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham on Friday, Jan. 28, 1983. The pictures seem to anchor him. Coach was at Jimmy Hinton's house and didn't feel well. Billy Varner has been married to Susie for 57 years, and as her life was once spent waiting on him to get home from a job that didn't know hours or days off, now it's spent managing his dementia. Edit Now. We went to the dressing room. As of 2015, seven trustees were executives or directors at Bryant Bank. He collapsed once from nervous exhaustion, chain-smoked cigarettes, ripped the filters off ones he bummed, passed out on couches, checked into alcohol rehab. The 68-year-old son of late football coaching legend Bear Bryant has had successful business ventures in everything from catfish farming to concrete, from dog tracks to casinos and from banks to reinsurance. They have three daughters: Stella Gray Bryant Sykes, Mae Martin Bryant Murray, and Anna Laurie Bryant McKibbens, all graduates of The University of Alabama, and three grandchildren. The Bear wore houndstooth. Even Mrs. Bryant didn't know him as well as Billy did. We had some guys behind us. My dad wanted to set me on the right path as soon as I was born! There are also a ton of Pauls and Paulas. In 1937, the owner of the Leader, John G. Stoll, bought the Herald, and both daily papers were published concurrently (the Herald in the morning and the Leader in the afternoon) for the next 46 years. The house--a classic Tudor-style--was owned by Harmon's family. We made ice cream, one time. Today he can. "That's him up there," he says. He's an honorary assistant coach for the 1975 season. "We had a dog named Bear as a puppy, but then we changed it to Bryant," confessed a family from Huntsville that also has two human Bryants on the roster. ", She stands still, surrounded by the strangers who've come to genuflect, and she thinks, "If they only knew." His voice might be what affects her most. Bryant has been called by critics "Little Bear" or "cub," terms which seemed aimed at diminishing him compared to his legendary father, who Bryant calls "Papa. I think he wanted to be his own man, McNair said. His clarity comes and goes. Paul W. Bryant Jr. was running a minor league baseball team before he was 25 years old. Look at the UA System Trustees website and you will see the names of 15 permanent trustees, but only 14 photos. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Eight husky players carried Paul 'Bear' Bryant to his grave under a bare hickory tree and more than 8,000 mourners in two cities said goodbye Friday to the man they called the greatest football coach who ever lived. Bryant's son, Paul Bryant Jr., remembers his father's birthday more than the anniversary of his death, but for most Alabama fans, everything changed "the day Bear Bryant died." Missing? Accessed March 4, 2023. https://lhlphotoarchive.org/ark:/16417/th71m0q2fr6vl, Researchers are required to have an SCRC Researcher Account in order to request or order digital copies of materials. Reach Tommy Deas at tommy@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0224. The coach visited this house once. "The white hat. Tietosuojakytnnstmme ja evstekytnnstmme voit lukea lis siit, miten kytmme henkiltietojasi. Paul W. Bryant's income mostly comes from and basic source is being a successful American businessman. Paul William Bryant Jr. was born circa 1945. I'd park the car. Coach Bear Bryant at the 1982 Liberty Bowl football game in Memphis, Tennessee. That led to jobs, bartending at parties and running errands, and by the late 1960s, around the same time the coach traded his brown fedora for a hat with black-and-white checks, Billy began working for Bryant full time. Hundreds of cars were lined up alongside the interstate in Birmingham to watch the procession pass. He was working for Charlie Finley, who was a Birmingham native who had made a gazillion dollars in pharmaceuticals and became quite a character in baseball, said Kirk McNair, who was a sports writer in Birmingham at the time, and who became a longtime Bryant family friend. Having football competitive and doing well, and so much more than that is (when) we're maintaining at a championship level every year, it makes it easier on businesses around the state, I promise you. Bryant, a member of the University of Alabama board of trustees since 2000 and president pro tempore of the board since 2011, said his business secret as president of Greene Group, a privately-held holding company, has more to do with being able to identify profitable enterprises. just to see how many people would turn around. "It's crazy. Bryant was the son of legendary college football coach Bear Bryant and his wife, Mary. Photo by Dave Dieter HVT, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Paul, who rode in a mule-drawn cart from Moro Bottom, Ark., and in the back of Billy Varner's crimson Buick LeSabre, struggled, season after season. Bryant's net worth is not public knowledge, but he has amassed enough wealth to donate tens of millions of dollars to the UA. All rights reserved (About Us). Bryant loved University of Alabama Crimson Tide football, and his son appears to love it just as deeply. 'I think Coach Bryant was the greatest leader this country ever had,' said his former All-America and Dallas Cowboy linebacker Lee Roy Jordan. Facebook gives people the power. "I ended up playing football.". 'Well, that's my first name!" Wilson's father added his own nod of approval, replying loudly, though muffled by a bite of hot dog, "Rollf Tfide! Currently, Bryant is president of the privately held holding company, Greene Group, Inc. which has operated a multi-state business engaged in reinsurance, finance, leasing, par-mutual racing, casino management, cattle ranching, aquaculture, catfish processing and distribution, fuel distribution, outdoor recreation, wildlife management, and concrete/aggregate construction. NFL combine Day 2 recap: Which draft prospects are rising? They married right out of high school. Susie is short, 77, with gray hair and a walker she pushes around. What was 'Bear' Bryant's retirement plan? It involved the Red Sox and PAUL BRYANT OBITUARY Paul Dean Bryant Jr., 47, of El Mirage, Arizona, passed away on April 15, 2006. "Yes, sir, we've got Paul and Bryant covered right there in one house.". Last week, after 23 years of mostly losing seasons, UAB President Ray Watts announced that the 2014 football season would be the last for UAB. You miss a lot of things you shouldn't miss.". Growing up, everyone called Bear Jr. "Papa," except for Hilburn, who called Papa's daddy "Papa" while everyone else called him "Grandpapa." Barra wrote the best biography of Bryant, "The Last Coach," and even in his book, there is a Paul-sized hole at the center of the narrative. Vanessa Bryant just received a heck of a lot more money from L.A. County after her initial $15 million win last year . I remember all of them. Neither his wealth nor his legacy as the son of the man who retired as college football's all-time winningest coach, however, has inclined him to lead a public life. "I just don't know what's going to happen to him," Varner said. The funeral service at the First Methodist Church in Tuscaloosa was deeply religious, with little reference to Bryant's career or character. I walked in front of him. To his right is the famous painting "315" that shows Bryant on the sideline as he breaks the all-time wins record, and down the wall from that is a pencil-and-ink drawing of Bryant as a young man. "I know I've made this journey," he told a reporter just before his final season. Oh, s--- $50 wasn't worth it. Sometimes Bryant visits. That's a no-no.". It's the only time we've put our name on anything. It is the most extensive, single collection of still photographic images documenting Lexington's 20th Century history in existence. As Billy's memory fades, that knowledge disappears with it, widening the gulf between truth and imagination. We can't just have anybody who is named Paul or William or even Bryant showing up and trying to sneak into the group. Kobe Bryant's Widow Vanessa Bryant Settles Crash Photos Lawsuit at He was with him almost 24 hours a day.". Welcome to the 23rd annual Paul W. Bryant Namesake Reunion, where the only requirement to attend is that you or a member of your immediate family is willingly and lovingly -- sometimes strategically -- named for the coach known as "Bear." They greet one another by saying "Doctor " "Doctor " "Doctor " "Doctor " in a round-robin introduction that ends up with the title being used 24 times. He was appointed to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees in 2000 . Billy deflates, his voice and his body sinking back down into the chair. His voice ticks up a few notches. "Don't tell me he's dead.". Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list. Tobacco industry -- Kentucky -- Lexington. If I'd changed jobs, I would have been making $50 more a month. -- Kentucky -- Lexington. I think that's one reason, McNair said, that he has put so much money (in the form of donations) into museums at the university., In 2005, Bryant founded Bryant Bank, which he calls my winding-down project.. It was a hand-me-down. The trust has over 50,000 members and more than 250,000 supporters throughout the country. The 69-year-old Bryant -- fairly or not, accurately or not -- is seen by supporters of UAB football, and maybe supporters of UAB period, as public enemy No. The next morning, on Jan. 26, Varner ran errands, taking Bryant's daughter to the hospital and dropping off a to-do list at the office for Knowles. A houndstooth car is just the beginning. Paul W. Bryant, Jr. Wiki & Bio - everipedia.org OBITUARIES - Daily Press 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Which non-quarterback group will define each top-25 team's season? Most afternoons, Bryant would slip into the bar and play cards with friends. We probably don't pump that as much as we should, Bryant said, but we're real proud of that. Bryant established two dozen operating companies and over 50 real estate ventures and syndicates. There is certainly regret in Bryant's choice of devotional. Bear Bryant funeral - al.com

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