Wilbert Henry Bryant III

Will was born in Baltimore, MD in 1950 to Wilbert Henry Bryant Jr. and Thelma E. (Barrett) Bryant. He was proceeded in death by one brother Wayne and is survived by younger brother Mark.

He attended Kenwood High School in Baltimore and followed in his father’s footsteps, joining the United States Navy after graduating. Will went to Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois for boot camp.

He served his country honorably for 21 years as an Aviation Structural Mechanic while stationed in Keflavik, Iceland, NAS Pax River, and NAS Cecil Field. Will spent quite a bit of time working on the flight deck of the aircraft carriers including the USS Nimitz, the Forrestal, and the Independence, just to name a few.

His deployments took him all through the Mediterranean Sea (Spain, Portugal, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, & Egypt). He also traveled to South America (Brazil, Panama, Columbia, & Mexico.) Will’s last cruise was on the Nimitz in the Persian Gulf.

After retiring from the Navy in 1990, Will worked as a car salesman which allowed him to use his gift of being able to talk to anyone. Will loved his country and was proud and honored to have served his country in the U.S. Navy.

After traveling the world with the Navy, Will decided nothing was better than home. His interests around Jacksonville included fixing up cars, riding motorcycles, the FSU Seminoles, and fishing. His wife, Carol, fondly remembers working in the cold garage on the engine for the ‘49 Chevy. They put that engine in 3 times!

His daughter Nickie remembers as a young girl sleeping in Will’s truck on the beach in St. Augustine in the middle of the night while he fished. Will loved his daughter’s activities and would arrange his schedule so he could attend school activities with her such as school field trips. He was very competitive too, helping Nickie sell girl scout cookies to his Navy buddies. One year, Nickie, with Will’s help, sold over 500 girl scout cookies and won a big prize, which they were both very excited about.

Will frequented car shows where everyone knew his chihuahua, Poncho, who would be seen at the shows wearing a tiny bandana. It was his love of dogs that his family will remember him by. He loved his chihuahuas and Rottweiler's, several of which preceded him in death and will be buried with him.

Will and Carol were married for 25 years. Their wedding was in Key West, FL in 1995. Afterward, they spent the day on a deep-sea fishing charter. Carol remembers it as the best day of their lives.

During his Navy days, Will was known as “Bear.” In addition to his own nickname, he loved giving out names to his loved ones. Carol was known to Will as Ruthie and the grandkids answered to a host of nicknames including “LuLu”, “Tootsie Lu”, “Zoom Zoom and Zoom”, “Pork Chop” or when they were being silly, “knuckleheads” or the “knucklehead brothers.”

He is survived by his wife Carol Bryant, brother Mark Bryant, daughter Nicole Bryant Duran, stepdaughter Holly (Jonathan) Johnson, niece Jamie Bryant, and grandchildren Aiden Scully, Sarah Scully, Matthew Scully, Carter Scully, Leah Johnson, Joseph Duran, Luke Duran, Lauren Johnson, Nicolas Duran.

Waiting for him on the other side were his parents, brother Wayne Bryant, stepdaughter Heather Scully, nephew Wade Bryant, and first wife Jacqueline Bryant.

A memorial Mass will be celebrated Saturday, February 27th, 2021 at St. Joseph’s Historic Catholic Church at 4214 Loretto Road, Jacksonville, FL. Mass begins at 10am with Father Sebastian George as Celebrant.

Friends and family are welcome to gather following the service. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in Will’s honor to the Jacksonville Humane Society.