Dr. James Cecil Bryant, Jr.

Dr. James C. Bryant, 76, died Monday, February 11, 2008.  Dr. Bryant who was born October 21, 1931, was a professor, an Atlanta writer, and a pastor. Coming to Atlanta from the faculty of Florida State University in 1973, Dr. Bryant was a professor of English at Mercer University Atlanta, and former Chairman of the Humanities Division until 1989. Afterwards he taught adult education for Mercer University College before he was reassigned as a Special Assistant to the President of Mercer University in Macon where he served until his retirement in June 2006. He was a former President of the Atlanta Writers Club, a longtime member of the Atlanta Press Club, a member of the society of Professional Journalists, and a former Board Chairman of the Council of Authors and Journalists. For a number of years, he directed the Council's Summer Writer's Conference and Workshop on Saint Simons Island. Dr. Bryant wrote the memoirs of former Fulton County Commission Chairman Charlie Brown (Charlie Brown Remembers Atlanta), the biography of the Reverend James P. Wesberry (The Morningside Man), and the biography of Lamar R. Plunkett (The Gift for Giving).  He wrote the histories of the Capital City Club, Mercer University, the Atlanta Baptist Association, and the Druid Hills Golf Club.  For 25 years he was the Chaplain of Yaarab Shriners. In addition, Dr. Bryant wrote a novel, a musical drama, Sunday school lessons for The Christian Index, and numerous articles for newspapers, magazines, and professional journals. Beside being a professor of English at Mercer University, Dr. Bryant pastored the Valley Brook Baptist Church in Decatur for 10 years. He had previously pastored Lake Claire Baptist Church in the Candler Park area of Atlanta. He was a member of the Old Guard, Yaarab Shriners, Morningside Masonic Lodge, the Saint Andrews Society and the Jesters. He was a 33 degree Mason. He was a member of the Order of Quetzalcoatl, the Royal Order of Scotland, the Oglethorpe Club, and the Chatham Club of Savannah,  Lake Toxaway Country Club of North Carolina, and a member of the Sons of the Revolution. Funeral services will be held Thursday, February 14th at 2:30 p.m.  in the chapel of the Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, 2715 Peachtree Rd., NE, Atlanta, GA 30305 with Dr. David Sapp, Dr. John Finley, and Dr. Kirby Godsey officiating. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at A. S. Turner & Sons.