Joyce Leiser (Geddes) Bryant

Joyce Leiser (Geddes) Bryant, 86, of Grand Island, died Friday, December 7, 2012, at Tiffany Square Care Center in Grand Island. Services will be 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, December 11, 2012, at St. Pauls Lutheran Church with the Rev. Sylvia Karlsson officiating. Burial will be in Grand Island Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. Monday at Apfel Funeral Home. Apfel Funeral Home is caring for the family. Memorials are suggested to St. Pauls Lutheran Church or the Stuhr Museum Foundation. Mrs. Bryant was born February 16, 1926, in Grand Island, the daughter of Glenn Hamilton and Maude Hazel (Leiser) Geddes. She grew up in Grand Island and attended Dodge Elementary School, Wasmer Elementary School, Barr Junior High School, and Grand Island Senior High School, graduating as salutatorian in 1944. She was a Jobs Daughters queen and president of the high schools Student Council. She attended the College of Home Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and received her Bachelor of Science degree in vocational education in 1948. She was president of Mortar Board and treasurer of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority, of which she was a 60-year member. She was a member of Phi Upsilon Epsilon home economics honorary. After teaching home economics at Barr Junior High School and later at Grand Island Senior High School, she married Gerald Dale Bryant on June 4, 1955, at St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Grand Island. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their children and grandchildren in 2005. She was a member of St. Pauls Lutheran Church and Mary Circle at the church, past president of P.E.O. Chapter EZ, Red Cross volunteer, YMCA member, Tuesday Book Club, Grand Island Literacy Council, past president of the Grand Island Area Graduate Home Economists, Grand Island Concert Association member, and was a Cub Scout and 4-H leader. Wasmer Elementary Schools Parent-Teacher Association selected her as a lifetime member in recognition of her volunteer efforts. Mrs. Bryant and her husband attended numerous Grand Island Public Schools athletic and fine arts events during his long-time career as a school administrator. Her hobbies included sewing, quilting, oil and acrylic painting, cooking, gardening, playing bridge, genealogy, and traveling. She focused on her life on her Christian faith, family, and friends and particularly enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren. She faced adversity with faith and a positive attitude; appreciated the loving care that nursing home, hospice, and other medical staff provided; and treasured many long-time friendships. Survivors include her husband, Gerald Bryant of Grand Island; two sons and daughters-in-law, Lee G. and Rae Bryant of Houston, Texas, and Jay S. and Gina Bryant of West Windsor, N.J.; one daughter, Carol L. Bryant of Grand Island; two granddaughters, Emma and Isabel Bryant of West Windsor, N.J.; one grandson, Jeffrey Bryant of Houston, Texas; and 26 nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Glenn and Maude Geddes; and one sister and brother-in-law, Jean and Ken Newhouse. Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.apfelfuneralhome.com