Frances Lee Bryant

BRYANT Frances Bible, 89, treasured mother, grandmother, wife, and friend, entered a new life on October 12, 2013, after a courageous, 17-year battle with Parkinson’s. One of the first female educators in American Veterans School after World War II, in her hometown, Roanoke, Frances was a retired English teacher and debate coach at Douglas Freeman High School, and a former science teacher at Moody Middle School. In years past, she and her husband also taught Sunday school at Derbyshire Baptist Church. A graduate from Mary Washington College, she also did graduate work in school counseling at Virginia Commonwealth University, and spent a summer at UCLA studying scriptwriting. Frances was known for her sharp intellect and vibrant creative spirit—inspirational to the many lives she touched. With her broad interests in literature, theater and the arts, Frances engaged her children and grandchildren in a host of artistic activities, which instilled lifelong creative pursuits in each of them. A prolific reader, Frances remained current in her thinking and knowledge about new literature, and world events. A synchronized swimmer and swimming instructor as a young adult, Frances also enjoyed mother-daughter dance classes in jazz and tap, and was an early adopter of step aerobics. She and her late husband, Charlie, married 58 years, were eloquent ballroom dancers, who enjoyed decades of foxtrot, swing, rumba, and tango with close friends in the Candlelight and former Ollie Cats dance groups. Despite her petite stature, Frances was larger than life in the depth of her interests, compassion, and vitality. Preceded in death by husband, Charles Duvall Bryant, Frances is survived by her son, Charles Duvall, and wife, Judith, of Rockland, Maine; daughter, Anne-Merle Bryant of Richmond; daughter, Lorrie White, and husband, John, of Richmond, and their children, Emma (Nashville), Ellie, Gracie and John Charles; and her brothers, James Bible of Roanoke, and Roy Bible, Jr., of Morton Grove, Illinois, and sister, Dorothy Tinsley of North Carolina. The family extends special thanks to family friend, Pat Rollison, for her continuing loving presence; the heaven-sent staff of Hospice of Virginia Inpatient Unit at Retreat Hospital; Dr. Michael Mandel and the Bon Secours Hospital team; and Frances’ many special caretakers at Gayton Terrace Assisted Living and in her home over the past 5 years. The family will hold a private memorial for Frances. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any contributions made in Frances’ honor to the Hospice of Virginia Foundation, 1700 Bayberry Court, Richmond, Virginia 23226.