Thomas Gary Bryan

On February 11, beloved husband and father Tom Bryan, 77, lost his long battle with cancer. Tom and his wife of 57 years, Barb, were lifelong residents of Des Moines—Eastsiders, as they call it.

Born December 24th, 1942 to Thomas I. Bryan and Ruby B. Bryan of Pleasant Hill, Thomas graduated from East High School in 1961. After a brief stint working on Rock Island Lines Railroad, Thomas spent the next 26 years working with Deluxe Check Printers, retiring in 1993 at only 51 years young.

Forever a hard-worker, Tom spent the latter part of his life—as he called it—“getting his ducks in a row” before setting out on various nationwide adventures. Never in a worry and never in a hurry, Tom was very methodical and meticulous when it came to work around the house or on the farm. (Ask anyone, the lawn was never mowed to his exact specifications unless he did it himself.)

Thomas was an avid traveler and loved fishing trips to both Minnesota and Missouri—as well as his annual “September Caper” with his buddies to Rathbun Lake in Iowa. He was also a big proponent of golf outings and deer hunting. For over 30 years Tom enjoyed playing pool where he and his son Scott competed together on several of the same leagues throughout the metro. He was also a prolific gardener and loved spending time on the family farm with his daughter Lori and playing with his great-grandchildren during their visits to Iowa.

Thomas is survived by his wife of 57 years, Barbara, daughter Lori Masear and son, Scott Bryan. Grandchildren Brandon Bryan (Samantha), Bethany Bryan (Jonathan Tippit) and Lexi Maesar. Great grandchildren include Kingston and Maxton Bryan and Keira Tippit. Thomas is also survived by his older sister Karen Watkins (Larry) and in memory Beverly Mackie (Robert).

The family would like to express gratitude to the outstanding medical care provided Dr. Robert Behrens and staff at the Iowa Clinic, as well as Urologist Dr. Carl Meyer and Kalee Gerdes, at the Iowa Clinic and the nurses at Methodist Powell Center.

A celebration of life luncheon is scheduled on Friday, February 21st at 1 p.m. at the Elks 98 Lodge, 5420 12th Avenue, Pleasant Hill.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to American Cancer Society.

Condolences may be expressed at:
www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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