Kenny “Ken” Bryant ~ Class of 1967
Departed ~ 3/4/2018
Obituary
Rev. Kenneth “Ken” Bryant, age 68 of Greenville, passed away Sunday evening, March 4, 2018 at his home in Greenville.
Memorial Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday March 24, 2018 at the Greenville First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Kurt Simon officiating. The family will receive friends there on Saturday March 24th from nine a.m. until service time. For those who desire memorials in Rev. Bryant’s memory may be made to the First Presbyterian Church Missions Fund at the service or at the Donnell – Wiegand Funeral Home in Greenville.
Ken was born in Hong Kong to Richard W. and Evelyn (Coovert) Bryant. He grew up in Thailand where his parents were missionaries. After graduating from Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, he returned to Thailand for 2 years as a Volunteer in Mission. He graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1977 and was ordained to the ministry of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church, USA. His first pastorate was the Presbyterian Church, Chow Chilla, CA. He served the Yoked Parish (Methodist/Presbyterian) in Green Valley, IL; Little Cedar Presbyterian Church, Little York, IL; and Sugar Tree Grove Presbyterian Church, Monmouth, IL. He accepted a call to Greenville First Presbyterian Church in 1994 and served there until his retirement in 2015. He is survived by his wife, Susan; daughters Christine Bryant and Sara (Jacob) Trautmann; grandchildren: Ezra, Jaida, Angelique, and Keatyn; sisters Sharon Bryant, Carol (Tim Narby) Bryant, and brother John (LeeAnna) Bryant; and several nieces and nephews. Ken was a member of the Presbytery of Southeastern IL, the Lion’s Club, the Greenville ministerial alliance, and served as welfare secretary for the Greenville Salvation Army unit.
Postscrip
My brother, Ken, and his wife, Susie, with my sister Carol and me on Easter Sunday.
The week before Christmas 2013, the doctors discovered a tumor in my brother’s brain that had, in three days, destroyed his ability to use his right arm and his right leg, and had taken away his speech. As pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Greenville, Illinois, he was unable to preach the Christmas sermon or participate in many Christmas activities at the church. The week after Christmas, the doctors in St. Louis operated and removed the tumor. Since then, he has been on an aggressive treatment plan with chemotherapy and radiation therapy to destroy any residual cancer and physical therapy to restore his ability to use his arm, his leg and his speech.
Rev. Kenneth R. Bryant Delivers the Resurrection Message on Easter Sunday
My last day in the USA this year was Easter Sunday. My sister and I flew to Greenville and spent two days with my brother and his wife. On Easter Sunday morning, we rejoiced to see and hear him deliver the resurrection message to his congregation. Oh, God is so good!