Bryan was a busy kid who proclaimed at an early age that he was “the boss of my own self.” He kept his sister, Michele, and brothers, John and Joe, entertained with his antics. He could often be found riding bikes through the woods, making skateboards, or playing hockey on the pond. The brothers gathered shoeboxes full of baby snakes in the spring. There were many happy days spent on his grandfather’s farm, running, playing, and getting into mischief. The farm was the touchstone of his childhood memories. As a little boy, the baby pigs nibbled his toes inside his red boots, and as a teenager, he learned to drive around the pasture in a 1959 Cadillac Coup de Ville. He could do the hustle and often attended “Saturday Afternoon Fever” at the Number Three Lift Discotech in Dallas, Texas. One of his early jobs was at Showbiz Pizza, as one of the original bears, Billy Bob. Although his family moved throughout the Midwest during his childhood, he would call Kansas home. He was a 1981 graduate of Topeka West High School, and a 1985 graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in Business Administration. He was a proud Jayhawk. Rock Chalk!
Bryan was a natural athlete and enjoyed swimming, football, and baseball as a kid. He was an avid cyclist and mountain biker, who rode through the red dust of Moab, between the giant redwoods of California, across the sunflower plains of Kansas, down the majestic Alps of Switzerland, and everywhere in between. He loved being outside and camped and hiked across both Europe and the United States. He loved spending time with friends playing golf. In his attempts to play golf anytime, anywhere, he once slogged through 18 rainy holes at the Irish Amateur Open Championship. However, the game that he played with the most passion, persistence, and power was ultimate frisbee. He was a proud member of the Horror Zontals at KU, and went to the first ever college nationals for ultimate frisbee in 1984. He could throw a frisbee almost the length of a football field and run lightning fast. His grace and dexterity were evident in his impossible jumps and dives for the disc. “Pookie,” as the Zontals called him, loved the hours spent on the field with good friends and the game. He set up an Ultimate Frisbee league and an international tournament in Washington D.C. and played in leagues throughout the country.
After college, he began a career as an auditor, working for Ernst & Young and Fannie Mae. He left a promising career in his late 20s and returned to school. At Old Dominion University he studied Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and earned a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and a Doctorate.
It was at ODU that Bryan met Melissa. She worked at the reference desk in the library and he was doing research. He loved telling the story of how he and Melissa met, the awkward situation of asking her out, and how they clicked on their first date. He had an infectious laugh and a quick wit. After only a couple months together it was clear that they would wind up together, despite grad school pulling Melissa all the way to Nebraska. They were married on June 20th, 1998. He often told Melissa that she was the love of his life. They loved adventures and exploring new places and new foods. They enjoyed hiking, golfing, listening to music, gardening, and watching movies. And then they became parents.
Bryan was a devoted father. He adored Rosalee, Maggie, and Joey. He read a thousand stories and went to all the parent teacher conferences. He was at most every game and dive meet. He carefully crafted Pinewood derby cars with his scouts. He shared his love of cars with Joey and went to car shows. He taught the kids how to drive. He made time to do things one-on-one: hikes, shopping excursions, how to throw a football. Bryan put their needs above his. He did his best to embarrass them, as dads do. He was also the kind of dad that let you make mistakes. He did not critique or judge. When things got messy and real, he was loving and supporting. He just wanted his kids to be confident and feel as proud of themselves as he was of them.
He was a hard worker. As Humana Healthcare’s Principal Data Scientist of Human Resources, he led the employee listening strategy, consulting services, analytic product design and the impact of data-driven insights on the employee experience. Before his time at Humana, he was an early part of the team that built Kenexa here in Lincoln. Over the span of his career, he worked across the country and the world. Working directly with CEOs and leadership teams, Bryan impacted the health and well-being of organization such as NASA, Wawa, Campbell’s, Quintiles, Johnson & Johnson, Children’s Hospital, Rockwell Semiconductors, Cargill, Allianz, Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, General Electric, and Hallmark.
Bryan sent his love out into the world, and it came back in the form of many, many friends.
He is survived by his wife of almost 24 years Melissa (Hamilton); his daughters Rosalee and Maggie; his son Joe; his mother S. Gene (Bryan) and father John; his sister Michele (Lee Silver); nieces and nephews Grace (José), Johnny, Nathan, Tim (Emily); brother John (Donna); nieces and nephews Amanda, Jack, Kiki, and Kyla; brother Joe (Amy), and many other friends and extended family members.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials may be made in Bryan’s name to https://www.bryanhealth.com/bryan-foundation/make-a-gift-online/ and specify the Bryan Independence Center (part of the Bryan Foundation). Or consider the University of Kansas Endowment, in support of the student loan program. Send donations to KU Endowment, P.O. Box 928, Lawrence, KS 66044 or give online at www.kuendowment.org/givenow.