- OBITUARY
Lorena (Manci) Bryars
(March 26, 1918 - September 8, 2009)
Lorena Manci Bryars, 91, born March 26, 1918 in Macon, GA died Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at North Baldwin Infirmary, Bay Minette, AL. The daughter of Orlando J. and Maude Lowrey Manci, she was a graduate of the Baldwin County High School class of 1937. She attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL, graduating in 1941. She taught school in Pheonix City, AL, and Bay Minette, AL until marrying Thomas Savage Bryars in 1944. Her teaching career continued in Bay Minette until the end of WWII, when she and Tom moved to Auburn. There she taught school while Tom was completing his degree at the, then, Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University). They lived in Winfield, Bay Minette, and Montgomery, AL, Pensacola, FL, Dawson, GA, Jackson, MS and Greensboro, NC, from Tom's career. Lorena will be remembered in all these places for contributions in music. She was a lifelong member of the Methodist Church and active in many activities of the church. She was organist and pianist, starting in Bay Minette as a teenager until age 90. She was also a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader, a volunteer with the Red Cross, and served for many years on the Bay Minette Public Library Board.
Lorena was preceded in death by her husband, a daughter, Cynthelia "Telia" Bryars, two sons, George T. Bryars and Clay R. Bryars, two sisters, Florence M. Webb and Frances M. Law, and a devoted friend, Dixie McKee Hamilton. She is survived by a son, Thomas S. Bryars (Carolyn), and daughter, Amelia B. Stephens (Earl), both of Bay Minette, AL; a brother, Orlando J. Manci, Jr. (Doris), Arlington, TX; grandchildren Carla M. Chiang, Camille M. Allen, Michael E. Mee, Jr. (Ann), Sarah E. Mee, Beth B. Lamey (Jason), Teresa B. Ryan, Manci Bryars, Virginia Manci Stephens, William Earl Stephens, III, George Thomas Stephens, and Dillon Savage Bryars; four great grandchildren.
The funeral service will be held Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church with the Reverend D. K. Christenberry, the Reverend Dr. Jeff Spicer and the Reverend Julia Webb-Bowden officiating. Interment will follow at Bay Minette Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the church Thursday, September 10, 2009 from 9:30 a.m. until the 11:00 a.m. service.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the First United Methodist Church Building Fund, P. O. Box 338, Bay Minette, AL. 36507 or to the charity of your choice.
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