And no one knew Coach Bryant better than Billy. Like his boss before him, Billy Varner has come to the place where he must consider what he did with his time. "Do you remember?". Alabama-Funeral-Young man gives final salute to Coach "Bear" Bryant. "I went and bought me one of those. Each rising sun takes a little more from the couple who live in the small brick home southwest of downtown. Paul Bryant was the 11th of Wilson Monroe and Ida Kilgore Bryant's 12 children born in Moro Bottom, Cleveland County, Arkansas. "At the University of Alabama it's really important," Bryant told Deas. Paul W. Bryant is dying for the second time, and one day, in the not-so-distant future, only The Bear will remain. Bryant served as the chairman of the Civil War Trust. "I'm not sure I've enjoyed all of it. Bear Bryant looks down from four or five different places. Health facilities -- Kentucky -- Lexington. Paul William "Bear" Bryant would have turned 100 on Wednesday, and the grandson made famous by photos of him walking off the field with the man he calls "Papa" is now 50. When an assistant coach told him in 1970 that Vince Lombardi had died, Bryant spoke of regrets, and it shocked his friend. With the nomination tied up in the Legislature, trustee Frank Bromberg decided to resign, which allowed Bryant to fill the sixth district slot in April 2000. Bryant has been called by critics "Little Bear" or "cub," terms which seemed aimed at diminishing him compared to his legendary father, who Bryant calls "Papa. A story last year from Bloomberg News, mostly about his extensive business dealings, shows a man who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, a fortune gained through a variety of businesses and investments spanning dog and horse racing, the insurance industry, cement making, catfish farming and banking. Knowles has walked through the museum about 10 times. Alabama-Funeral-Woman and child mourn the death of Coach "Bear" Bryant. Bryant Jr. also has clear ties to a federal insurance fraud case that drew a 15-year prison sentence for Allen W. Acknowledged by the National Park Service and leading conservationists as the foremost American heritage land preservation organization, the Civil War Trust is known to be the largest and most effective non-profit devoted to the preservation of Americas battlegrounds. The funeral service at the First Methodist Church in Tuscaloosa was deeply religious, with little reference to Bryant's career or character. "Yes, sir, we've got Paul and Bryant covered right there in one house.". OBITUARIES - Daily Press Four loud slaps. The pictures on the wall hold him. Married with three daughters, Bryant is known to be a student of American history, especially the Civil War. They know you've been vetted pretty well.. The Chester County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) honored Sgt. So why change the dog's name? Trump avoided . Susie can tell you what she saw, but that's it. His moniker came from a carnival promotion where he promised to battle a caged bear when he was 13 years old. TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - Maybe Winston Churchill comes closest to summing up Paul Bryant Jr. "I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia," said Churchill in a 1939 radio address talking about what role the then USSR might play in World War II. In 1996, 14 years after Bryant died, he retired from the University of Alabama Police Department. Sometimes it cloud up and rain.". Half a dozen helicopters carrying news photographers hovered near the cemetery, which lies at the end of a black community in southwest Birmingham. A man looks up and he's 76 years old, with memories he can't touch and not much else. His voice is deep and trails off when he's unsure. One of Bryant's companies, Alabama Reassurance or "Alabama Re", was implicated in at least nine counts of the Stewart indictment, relating to a "wire fraud scheme to deceive state insurance regulators involving reinsurance." Paul Bryant, Jr., who traveled with his former K-9 partner Azeem to Ground Zero to search for missing persons shortly after the attacks of . A number of people wore T-shirts that said 'It Took a Giant to Replace the Bear,' referring to former New York Giants Coach Ray Perkins, whom Bryant selected to succeed him at Alabama last month. Persistent Link for this Record:https://lhlphotoarchive.org/ark:/16417/th71m0q2fr6vl, University of Kentucky LibrariesSpecial Collections Research Center. "I don't know whether he died or what" is what it sounds like he says. He's an honorary assistant coach for the 1975 season. KATIE J. BUSH SUFFOLK -Katie Jane Bush, 74, died. Twenty-four? I've had some different ones not work, too, Bryant said recently in a rare and revealing interview. His voice ticks up a few notches. There are also a ton of Pauls and Paulas. 2004av001. "So little coming out of it. No, no. Bryant said he was invited by the board members to fill the vacant seat. He's following me. Croakies to hold sunglasses, cuff links, purses, both the kind with handles and clutches. Sometimes Bryant visits. The newspapers had a combined Sunday edition, but their editorial policies remained quite different. As she stands by the office exhibit, the speakers to her left loop audio of Bryant reading that devotional: "What I do today is very important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. Billy was worried, and maybe that's why he offered a rare piece of insight to a local reporter. He puts a finger over his lips and says, "Shhh." Bryant's family and friends fiercely guard his legacy, but this omerta brings with it an accidental cost. Bear Bryant had died, and as the news went out on the radio -- the man's voice cracked when he said, "Ladies and gentlemen " -- Varner stood in the hallway of the Druid City Hospital with nowhere to go. City & town life -- Kentucky -- Lexington. [1][2] By 1995, they were incorporated as GreenTrack, Inc.[4] As of 2009, he owned 72% of GreenTrack. Being unable to play football, he said, would have made it impossible for him to have the standing to coach the game. She laughs some, with only a little bitterness, about what was gained, what was spent and what remains. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Paul Bryant's dedicated service and leadership have been invaluable to the board of trustees and to the University of Alabama System, Witt said. The price for memories is regret, and somewhere in the middle of all this, Billy considers how he spent his life. [1][2], Bryant graduated from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with a degree in Commerce in 1966. [2], In 2005, Bryant founded the Bryant Bank. Obviously, I had an advantage in that I had met a lot of business people through my parents when I was in high school and college, in the state and out of state. "I just don't know what's going to happen to him," Varner said. Kobe Bryant's Widow Vanessa Bryant Settles Crash Photos Lawsuit at This isn't a celebration. Bryant also has a keen interest in the Civil War, and serves as chairman emeritus of the Civil War Preservation Trust, a national historic battlefield preservation organization. B "Coach Bryant isn't dead," he'll say. [7], He served on the board of trustees of the University of Alabama[3][6] until September 2015 and previously served as its chairman. I'm not much better than other people, but the timing might have been good on some things.. Inside she found $500 and a note. (File Photo/ The Huntsville TImes) The Huntsville Times, Former Alabama student Tammy Rogers at graveside service for Alabama coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Ala. on Friday Jan. 28, 1983. Paul Bryant Jr. Profiles | Facebook It is the most extensive, single collection of still photographic images documenting Lexington's 20th Century history in existence. "His life is as concealed as Coach Bryant's life. "My favorite part is meeting all the folks and hearing all the different name combinations they come up with," explained Curtis Paul Parker of Anniston. The Huntsville Times, Graveside services are held in Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Ala. for Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, Jan. 28, 1983. Bryant loved University of Alabama Crimson Tide football, and his son appears to love it just as deeply. Age: 68 Birthplace: Birmingham Education: Graduated in 1966 with a degree in finance from the University of Alabama Family: Wife, Cherry; three daughters and three grandchildren Career: President of Greene Group Inc., a privately-held holding company; chairman of Bryant Bank; president pro tempore of the UA board of trustees; chairman emeritus of the Civil War Preservation Trust, a national historic battlefield preservation organization, Tommy Deas Executive Sports Editor | The Tuscaloosa News. [2] In 1999, he acquired a stake in Harvest Select Catfish Inc., a company which raises catfish in Alabama and Mississippi. Miss Mae Martin Bryant, daughter of Couch and Mrs. Paul Bryant, gives holiday tea. Roll Tide!" A diamond of belly shows through the puckered front of his shirt. The database includes around 700 names, and the museum manages to track most of their whereabouts via both old-school correspondence and newfangled social media. Next fall, another great-grandson, Paul William Bryant Tyson, will be on Nick Saban's roster as a freshman quarterback. My passion is the dogs, really, he said. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. What was 'Bear' Bryant's retirement plan? It involved the Red Sox and Billy is asleep. He focuses on the shot from the Liberty Bowl. ", As Chase Bryant's father nodded proudly, another teen, Bryant Wilson, shouted "Same! The living room takes up the front of the house, with a television at one end and, on the wall, a poem about footsteps in the sand, which ends with God telling a follower: "The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.". To his left, surrounded by the small frames, is a large photograph of Bear Bryant at the 1982 Liberty Bowl, sicker than anyone but Billy and a few others knew, bundled tight against the cold. Billy deflates, his voice and his body sinking back down into the chair. "It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key: That key is Russian national interest.". Bryant is survived by his wife, Mary Harmon Bryant; a son, Paul Bryant Jr.; a daughter, Mae Martin Bryant Tyson; three sisters, Bessie Goolsby of Nashville, Tenn., Carrie Hatcher of. It grows smaller all the time. [2] He serves as its chairman.[6]. After the game, on Dec. 30, Varner drove Bryant back to Tuscaloosa. Try 100. As always, Varner stood in the background. He dropped him off at night. I'm not as big on killing stuff as I am finding it with the dogs. He was working for Charlie Finley, who was a Birmingham native who had made a gazillion dollars in pharmaceuticals and became quite a character in baseball, said Kirk McNair, who was a sports writer in Birmingham at the time, and who became a longtime Bryant family friend. "There's not much really you can talk about Billy," Rutledge said. On the worst, Billy, who is 76, doesn't recognize Susie. Often, Coach read the paper aloud. In addition, he chaired the committee that hired Dr. Robert Witt, past President of The University of Alabama and retired Chancellor of The University of Alabama System. Somebody comes up to do something to Coach Bryant, they're gonna have to get me first. 2/28/2023 6:52 PM PT. Bryant has also had a couple of Labrador retrievers, but they passed away last year. A few days before the game, as a television crew interviewed him, Bryant walked by and cracked, "Don't rush yourself, Billy, I'll bring the car around. Lexington Leader (Lexington, Ky. : Daily), [Identification of item], John C. Wyatt Lexington Herald-Leader photographs, 1936-1990,2004AV001, Special Collections and Digital Programs, University of Kentucky Libraries,Lexington, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center. By mid-day, with the sun shining brightly, several hundred waited for the start of the graveside service for Coach "Bear" Bryant. Bryant's inner circle, those who knew the man, is surrounded by reminders of this. Paul Bryant Jr.'s bank is the tie that binds UA trustees. Billy was Bear Bryant's driver, bodyguard and valet, one of the few remaining people who knew him as a human being. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Woman and child mourn the death of Coach "Bear" Bryant. "What is?" #RollTide pic.twitter.com/C5wakg73d7. I looked at him like, 'What the hell you think I'm here for?'". He'd eaten some sausage, and it upset his stomach is all. He was 69. You start thinking about what you could have been doing. He's been on the board for 13 years or so. I didn't do either of those. February 22, 1991 to January 2, 1993. Reach Tommy Deas at tommy@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0224. When Alabama football is winning, it's just better. Hilburn's mother was Mae Martin Bryant, and Paul Murray's mother is Mae Martin Murray, the daughter of Paul "Bear" Bryant Jr. and, like Mary Harmon Hilburn, the granddaughter of Paul "Bear" Bryant . "If you're gonna be in, be all-in," explained James Turner, Bryant Denny Turner's father. "I keep trying to call that the Indian Hills football team. S Alabama-Air view of cemetery at "Bear" Bryant's funeral. [13] Stewart was found guilty on all 135 counts of fraud. Bryant, who won 323 games in his 38 seasons -- more than any other college coach -- died Wednesday of a heart attack only 28 days after retiring. Joe Elmore said. Tobacco industry -- Kentucky -- Lexington. He laughs at himself when he recenters. usie Varner answers the door. Billy tells Susie that he talks to the coach. PAUL BRYANT OBITUARY Paul Dean Bryant Jr., 47, of El Mirage, Arizona, passed away on April 15, 2006. Three trades in a chaotic top five, The new law changing service academy football, and the coaches pushing back, Realignment chatter: How the Pac-12 holds the key to it all. "Bryant." Only the sound of one woman sobbing broke the stillness. He says something else, his voice deep, the sentences trailing off. They were traveling, and Billy said he needed to get home for supper. Bryant said that purpose in starting the bank was to create a community bank like the ones that existed in Tuscaloosa when he was younger. He is a man. He established the General J.C.C. In the Yellowhammer State, they've been giving 100 percent to the Bear Bryant name game for a very long time now. Thereafter, he has been chairman of the Crimson Tide Foundation since its inception. "You was at the hospital when he died," she says. Varner never felt comfortable enough to strike up conversations with Bryant, but he could poke at the Legend of The Bear. Paul Bryant was the 11th of 12 children who were born to William Monroe and Ida Kilgore Bryant in Fordyce, Arkansas. Here we are updating just estimated networth of Paul William Bryant Jr. salary, income and assets. All in the family: how three generations of Jaquezes have ruled West Coast basketball, Alonso says Aston 'living a dream,' eyes podium, LIVE Transfer Talk: Bayern still keen on Kane despite new Choupo-Moting contract, Top moments from Brady, Manning, Jordan and other athletes hosting 'Saturday Night Live'. Sitting with Paul Murray was his cousin, Mary Harmon Hilburn, granddaughter of Bear. Billy sits in his big brown chair and looks at an oddly familiar man. Jack Rutledge asked carefully. He got his bartender a badge and a gun. All rights reserved. Paul Bryant Jr. Gives $10 Million to UA Crimson Tradition Fund Member since Sep 2010. QB Bennett addresses off-field issues at combine, Stroud says he's top player, defends run ability, Alabama QB Young undeterred by size questions, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. announced that the 2014 football season would be the last for UAB, Our view: We don't trust the process that ended UAB football, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Coach Bryant died Wednesday. If you've been in that, you get looked at close so it helps to do OK in one regulated business you get another one, he said. Some wore Alabama caps and others were . A houndstooth car is just the beginning. The Leader was a Republican, society-based evening edition, and the Herald a more political, heavily Democratic morning edition. Getty. They married right out of high school. Morant to miss two games after video with gun, Las Vegas prepared to give A's 'better opportunity', Richardson sets QB mark for vertical, broad jump, Curry, Iguodala probable to return vs. Lakers, Sources: Suns hiring Pistons' Bartelstein as CEO, Mbappe breaks PSG's all-time scoring record, Bruins stroll past Kane, Rangers, win 10th in row, Horns' Robinson: Versatility worthy of early pick, Inside the long-awaited return of Jon Jones and his quest for heavyweight glory, The future of the NFL combine: Is there really a chance it could end forever? Hundreds of others gathered silently outside the Methodist church to wave goodbye when Bryant's body was loaded into a hearse for the trip to Elmwood Cemetery. I always thought about that. "I know I've made this journey," he told a reporter just before his final season. Sanders Memorial at The University of Alabama honoring alumni who served the Confederacy. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. He was there with his daughter, Carlin Bryant Parker, who was obsessed with those carnival games. Twenty-eight days later, on a Tuesday night, Billy's phone rang. I'd drive him. They have three daughters: Stella Gray Bryant Sykes, Mae Martin Bryant Murray, and Anna Laurie Bryant McKibbens, all graduates of The University of Alabama, and three grandchildren. That's a no-no.". Robert Witt has worked with Bryant for the last 10 years, first as UA president and more recently as chancellor of the UA system. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Standing before the exhibit, she can hear his voice all around her, literally, from the museum's video displays. We made ice cream, one time. Lexington (Ky.) -- Politics and government. TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- There is a scene in the 1985 comedy "Spies Like Us" in which Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, posing as doctors, enter a tent full of actual doctors. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). kehittksemme ja parantaaksemme palveluitamme sek tuotteitamme. "I always did want me the old-timey ice cream freezer," she says. Before every Alabama home game, the big video board plays clips of Bryant talking, sounding like he ate a carton of Chesterfields. Lexington (Ky.) -- Social life and customs. The illness forced him to miss a year of school and the after-effects zapped his strength to play the game his father coached. ", There were also no Sabans at the reunion. Cities and towns -- Growth -- Kentucky -- Lexington. Simply stated, Paul Bryant cares deeply for the university.. [8], He has donated millions of dollars to the Alabama Crimson Tide football program. Married with three daughters, Bryant is known to be a student of American history, especially the Civil War. Since then, Moore says, daughters of Joe Namath and Ken Stabler have attended Alabama on . Paul Bryant Jr. loaded his family wife Cherry and daughters Stella Gray (14), Mae Martin (13) and Anna Laurie (10) on his private plane for the trip to Memphis. In real life, biographer Allen Barra reports, Bryant had a copy of Philip Roth's masturbation-heavy literary masterpiece "Portnoy's Complaint" on his shelf. I was a big guy " -- Billy sits up in his chair, and his face becomes menacing; he bows up his shoulders and arms -- " and by the time those bullets go through me, he's gone. 'Bear' Bryant's son has new details of coach's final game at Liberty Bowl I wasn't really seeking it, he said. The family of the late Kobe Bryant has agreed to a $28.5 million settlement with Los Angeles County to resolve the remaining claims in a lawsuit over deputies and firefighters sharing grisly photos of the NBA star, his 13-year-old daughter and other victims killed in a 2020 helicopter crash, attorneys and court filings said Feb. 28, 2023. Others cried openly. Eight husky players carried Paul 'Bear' Bryant to his - UPI In 2012, Bryant Bank was awarded the Revitalizing Your Community Award by the American Bankers Association, in large part for the bank's work after the April 27, 2011, tornado that devastated the community. The house--a classic Tudor-style--was owned by Harmon's family. Billy was always just around, in the office, on the road, on the sidelines. The coach visited this house once. I walked in front of him. Over the years, various accounts have given him different titles, but essentially, he was a fixer. We probably don't pump that as much as we should, Bryant said, but we're real proud of that. [13], He is married, and has three daughters. Associations, institutions, etc. Alabama won the game against the University of Illinois at Urbana?Champaign, 21 to 15. It's lunchtime. (AP Photo/Tannen Maury), Football star Joe Namath talks with the widow of Alabama coach Paul Bear Bryant at the Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham on Friday, Jan. 28, 1983. The extended family includes about a dozen hunting dogs, who are kept at Bryant's farm in Greene County. Trump says he's not a celebrity, he's a president after Mike Pompeo Billy's voice drops back down, and the words press together, a slurry of confusion and rearranged thoughts, part truth, part fiction. His eyes get wide. Even with names. "Bryant." Few appear to believe that and instead see the trustees, with Bryant Jr. at the helm, as a force that for years has refused to support the team. The source of her name was Mary Harmon Bryant, the wife of Bear and First Lady of Alabama Football. The John C. Wyatt photographs (LHL) consist of an estimated 2 million unique photographic negatives spanning the years 1939-2001. Because this is my wife and it's her middle name! Paul William Bryant Jr (born December 19, 1944 in Birmingham) is a Tuscaloosa businessman and chairman of the Crimson Tide Foundation. Varner went home to rest, and that's where he was when the phone rang again. He only serves on one committee, but he does carry some influence with other board members. He is a founder of the Civil War Trust in Washington D.C. and personally underwrote the merger with the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites that created the modern Civil War Trust. They wanted husky ones.' ", "Bryant " "Bryant " "Bryant " "Bryant ". The director of the Bryant Museum approached him about writing a book. As she talks, there's a noise down the hall, a rattle of movement and the thump-thump of a cane on the floor. Paul W. Bryant, Jr. is the son of the late Paul W. Bryant and Mary Harmon Black Bryant. "Well, that's my middle name!" I'd park the car. Kentucky football coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant poses with his family, Paul Jr. at center with their pet dachshund, and his wife Mary, right, at their home in Lexington, Kent., Feb. 5, 1954. 2023 www.tuscaloosanews.com. The university had been spending about $20 million a year on football and the years ahead would only see that number grow and Watts pulled the plug causing a firestorm of protests from players and fans. Please update it here. At the request of Bryant's wife, Mary Harmon Bryant, the motorcade passed Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Crimson Tide's home field, and drove within sight of Legion Field in Birmingham, scene of many of his greatest victories. Watts has said he, not University of Alabama System trustees made the decision to shut the football program down. All rights reserved (About Us). just to see how many people would turn around. Paul started reading a devotional in the final two years of his life that said, in part, "When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving something in its place I have traded for it.". "Then," he added, "I'll do the same with Paul.".