Bryan Church was born June 6, 1959 to Virginia Dell and Kenneth Craig Church in Jacksonville, Florida. He has three older brothers: Craig, John, and Curtis Church. As a boy, Bryan loved sports and playing with his dog, Jingle. He was an excellent student and pianist and dreamed of being a composer. Virginia Dell convinced him that a more practical career would be better. He listened to his mother and finished his degree at University of North Florida. In the end, though, he managed to find a way to channel his creative side. He applied his love for writing and research and earned his PhD in accounting at the University of Florida. Go Gators!
Bryan made some great friends along the way who he very much valued. At Florida he met a girl in his accounting class, Lucy. She happened to be a friend of his friend, Keith. Keith and her friend, Elaine, decided that Bryan and Lucy were perfect for each other so they arranged a party. Luckily, Bryan realized that their friends were pretty smart. He found someone as hard-headed as he was. Surrounded by family and special friends, Bryan and Lucy married in 1984.
Soon after, they moved to Atlanta and Bryan was thrilled to join the talented and collegial faculty at Georgia Tech. He authored dozens of refereed publications in top-tier academic journals. He enjoyed contributing as an editor and to policy debates. He enjoyed teaching classes in auditing, as well as managerial and financial accounting. Bryan was particularly proud of his PhD students, who have moved to tenure-track positions at Case Western Reserve University, CUNY, Indiana University, Lehigh University, Loyola University of Maryland, Singapore Management University, the University of Tampa, and the University of Tennessee. He even was honored to be “father of the bride” for one of his students.
While Bryan had a long career at GT, he spent five years in Canada on the faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University. It is pretty cold in Canada for a beach boy but he still managed to wear shorts almost every day. Bryan enjoyed his time at WLU, making strong friendships and gaining long term co-authors. And, his first beautiful child, Moira, was born there.
After returning to Atlanta, Bryan and Lucy were blessed with two more children: William and Rory. He spent a lot of time on baseball and soccer fields, at tennis courts, and in concert halls. Bryan could not have been prouder of his children’s accomplishments. Moira is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and is currently a graduate student at the University of South Carolina. William is graduating from North Cobb High School and will begin studying at the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University next fall. Rory is a sophomore at North Cobb and is Bryan’s tennis star. Even before his own children were born, Bryan looked up to his older brothers because they were such wonderful parents. He used the example they set to become the wonderful father he was.
In addition to his work and children, Bryan enjoyed his dogs and the outdoors. He completed several marathons and even ultramarathons. He loved hiking and particularly his trips to the mountains with his friend, John.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra at:
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18