Myrtle Elizabeth Bryant

Myrtle Elizabeth (Readus) Bryant, 1936-2026, was born in Nashville, TN to the parents of Helen (Lewis) Readus and Willie Roy Readus. The family moved to Indianapolis when Myrtle was 9 years old. Myrtle attended IPS schools #23, # 56, #26, and Crispus Attucks High School, graduating in 1953. She continued her education at Ball State Teachers College and Indiana Central College, ultimately earning her Bachelor’s from Indiana Central and her Master's degree from Ball State University.

Myrtle taught school for 33 years, serving in both the Indianapolis Public Schools and Metropolitan District of Pike Township. After many years in the district, she was awarded the Pike Teacher of the Year. Through the years she taught 2nd, 4th, and mostly 6th- grades, spending most of her years teaching Reading & Language Arts.

Myrtle was a life member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. She was a founding member of the Gamma Zeta chapter. She was a longtime member of Crooked Creek Baptist Church and continued to participate the women's Bible class there until her death. She transferred her membership to St. Luke's United Methodist Church in 2018. There she served in the children’s ministry, as an usher, was part of United Methodist Women (now Women of Faith), and other various volunteer opportunities as they arose. She served as the secretary of her Crispus Attucks HS class of 1953 for many years. Myrtle also logged over 1000 volunteer hours at St. Vincent hospital, serving both with the St. Vincent Guild and the Reach Out And Read program at the Primary Care Center. Reach Out and Read was a true passion for her, as it married her loves of reading, teaching and children.

She is the proud mother of Michael (Nadia Marks), David (Ellen Berkman), and Dr. Cathy Bryant. The love of her life are her six grandchildren, Ben (Karli), Jodie, Lily, Jessie, Noah & Cole, and one great-granddaughter, Kinsley Bryant.

Myrtle's hobbies were many and included reading, sewing, and traveling with friends and family.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Thomas J. Bryant, parents William and Helen Readus, her brothers Willie Buford Readus, William Gerald Wright, James Howard Readus, and her sisters Thelma Rodgers and Melva Stanfield.

Although Myrtle LOVED flowers, she preferred that donations be made to a charitable cause. Two charities to which she donated and which had a lot of meaning to her are the Reach Out and Read Foundation, which fosters a love of reading and early childhood literacy by providing new books to children at their pre-school well child check-ups, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which supports breast cancer research.

Memorial gifts can be made at give.stvincent.org/givenow, please select Joshua Max Simon Care Center in the Designation field and in Honor/Memory of Myrtle to ensure your donation is directed to the Reach Out and Read program at the Primary Care Center.

Susan G. Komen Foundation: http://www.info-komen.org/goto/MyrtleBryant

Visitation will be held at Crown Hill Funeral Home & Cemetery, Memorial Chapel, 700 W. 38th St., Indianapolis, Indiana 46208, on October 5, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and again on October 6, 2026, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.  

A Celebration of Life will take place at Crown Hill Funeral Home & Cemetery, Memorial Chapel, 700 W. 38th St., Indianapolis, Indiana 46208, on October 6, 2026, at 11:00 am.