June Bryant

June Cooper Bryant passed away peacefully at her daughter’s home in Mansfield, Texas, on February 13, 2015, surrounded by family. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, February 19, 2015, at First Baptist Church of Hillsboro with Rev. Danny Gilliam officiating. Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 18, 2015, at Marshall & Marshall Funeral Directors in Hillsboro.

Although she lived in Texas for most of her life, June was born and raised in Cadiz, Kentucky, and loved to speak of her fondness for Kentucky and tell stories about growing up in Cadiz with her identical twin sister, Jane. June liked to recall her mother, Mary Dea Hopson Cooper, being fun loving and this spirit continued in Jane and June’s antics. June and Jane remained inseparable in spirit despite living far apart for most of their adult lives, and loved being together and with their younger sister, Jennye Dea. When together, singing and laughter was often present. June was a self-trained yet accomplished pianist, but more often than not she or Jane were playing the comb while singing and laughing.

June’s father, Van Cooper, served in the Second World War, and June often recalled seeing her daddy walking away from their home in his uniform to depart for service in Europe. After the war she attended the University of Kentucky before relocating to Dallas, Texas with her father, mother, and sisters. In Dallas she met Melvin Smallwood Bryant, serving as an usher in Park Cities Baptist Church. They were married on September 19, 1952, in College Station, where Mel was finishing his studies at Texas A&M. After graduation, the couple was stationed in El Paso, where their first-born child, Alan, was born. Like her father a few years earlier, her husband left for service in the Korean War. After the war Mel and June lived in Dallas and had five more children: Mark, Denise, Martha, Matthew, and Rachel. The young family experienced some hardship with the untimely loss of two of their children – Martha and Rachel – but held together and ultimately moved from city life in Dallas to Canton, Texas where they had a small farm. In addition to raising her children, June took care of the farm and its cows, horses, and chickens, while Mel continued engineering work first in Dallas, then in Houston. The family relocated to Houston and lived there for 20 years, where they ran a family business. June and Mel retired to Hillsboro, Texas in 1999.

Family and Christian faith were central to June’s life. She enjoyed “singing the harmony” on hymns. She inspired her children’s faith, and not surprisingly one of her sons currently serves and two of her grandchildren have served as foreign missionaries, and all of her children continue to be active in their churches. After moving to Hillsboro, Mel and June joined the First Baptist Church, where June enjoyed attending and teaching the Bible Searchers’ Ladies’ Sunday-School class. She became involved in local politics and community service in Hillsboro, and made many dear friends there. She carefully restored and kept up her late 1800's home and the roses she so enjoyed will soon bring cheer to the neighborhood.

June loved hosting and visiting her sisters, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Holidays, weddings, birthdays, and graduations were times of special importance to her, and she dreaded the time when the celebration ended and her family had to leave. She stayed in close touch, however, and was an active traveler visiting family; recent trips include Maine, Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Albania, California, and Washington. June loved watching movies and football and basketball games and was an avid reader. She was a great cook whose fried chicken, angel biscuits, and potato salad were second to none. Her family and friends will sorely miss her.

June is preceded in death by her husband Melvin; their daughters, Martha and Rachel; her mother and father, Mary Dea Hopson and Van Cooper; her sister, Jane Cooper Sutton; and their cousin Preston Hopson White. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Jennye Dea and Stan Cox of Oak Point, Texas; her children and their spouses, Alan Cooper and Ann Bryant of Tirana, Albania, Mark David and Susie Bryant of Canton, Texas, Denise Bryant and Michael Snow of Mansfield, Texas, and Matthew Stephen and Almitra Bryant of Richmond, Virginia; 15 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren and 1 on the way; her sisters’ children, Rick, Bob, and Mary Sutton and Chris Cox; her in-laws Wells Horton, Timothy Bryant, and Dennis and Martha Bryant; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation

Wednesday February 18, 2015 , 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM at Marshall & Marshall Funeral Directors in Hillsboro

Memorial Service

Thursday February 19, 2015 , 1:00 PM at First Baptist Church of Hillsboro

1-888-579-7953 Code: 28181


Facts Born: February 23, 1933
Death: February 13, 2015


Memorial Donations Memorial donations can be made to:
First Baptist Church Mission, P.O. Box 271, Hillsboro, TX 76645; Community Hospice of Texas, 1208 W. Henderson St. Suite B, Cleburne, TX 76033; Hill County Child Protective Services Board, P.O. Box 356, Hillsboro, TX 76645