Douglas Armour Bryant

There will be a memorial service at 11:30 am on Thursday, December 30, 2021, at Christ Episcopal Church, 120 E. Edenton Street, Raleigh, NC 27601.

Doug was born on July 8, 1932, in Worcester, MA. Soon after, the family moved to Roanoke, VA. Doug attended and graduated from Fishburne Military Academy, where he was an honored student. He entered the University of Virginia, and then transferred to Hampden Sydney College. He graduated from Hampden Sydney College in 1955. From there, he was drafted into the US Army and served from 1956 through 1958. His military career ended with serving at the American Embassy in Paris, France.

On September 9, 1958, Doug and his father purchased a seventeen-room motel on Chamberlayne Avenue in Richmond, VA. Doug moved to Richmond and began to learn the motel business. He worked seven days per week from sunrise to sundown. When he wasn’t assisting with room cleaning, he was at the front desk renting rooms. While in Richmond, he met a young genetics researcher named Mary Jane Evans. After a brief courtship, Doug made his best deal and convinced Mary Jane that it was a great idea to marry him. The family business grew and Doug’s brother, William, joined the company. Over the course of the next thirty years, the family would own eight motels and four restaurants.

On January 15, 1981, they purchased six Wendy’s restaurants. In 1992, Doug made the decision to exit the hotel/motel business to concentrate on Wendy’s. Doug loved the Wendy’s values that included an emphasis on customer service and giving back to the community. Over the next twenty-five years, the business grew to twenty-two restaurants in North and South Carolina.

Doug believed in community service and doing whatever he could to improve life for those around him. He served on several local and statewide boards including the two terms on the Vestry at Christ Church, President of the West Raleigh Rotary Club, District Governor of the Rotary Club, served eighteen years on the NC Symphony Foundation Board and served five years as Chairman, served on the Board of Trustees at Saint Mary’s School, served on the North Carolina State University Education Foundation, served on the Board of Saint Saviors, served five years on the Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau and was Chairman for fifteen months, and served on the Raleigh Advisory Board for BB&T.

The family wishes to thank the wonderful caregivers at The Cardinal.

Doug is survived by his wife of 61 years, Mary Jane Evans Bryant, son Richard Armour Bryant (Claire), daughters Robin Bryant Bost and Barbara Palmer Baynes (Jonathan), sister-in-law Cele Bryant, nine grandchildren Will Bost (Taylor), Bryant Bost, Sarah Bost, Catherine Bryant, Patrick Bryant, Elizabeth Bryant, Ben Palmer, Drew Palmer, Lilly Palmer, and one great-grandchild Olivia Bost.

He was preceded in death by his father, Alvin Vincent Bryant, his mother, Frances Armour Bryant, his brother, William Owen Bryant, son in law Patrick Bryan Palmer, and son in law William Stuart Bost.

The family asked that memorial gifts may be made to either Christ Episcopal Church or to the Saint Saviors Center; Christ Episcopal Church, 120 E. Edenton St., Raleigh, North Carolina 27601 US, https://ccral.org/; and Saint Saviour's Center, 616 Tucker Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 US, https://www.saintsaviourcenter.org/.

Service arrangements are being handled by Brown-Wynne, Saint Mary's St., Raleigh.