On August 18, Janet Lee (Brown) Bryant went to sleep in her earthly Woodville home and awoke on August 19 in her eternal home in the presence of God the Father, Lord Jesus Christ, her parents, Brewer (Buby) and Florine (Fortenberry) Brown, her daughter, Katherine Elizabeth Bryant, grandparents Scott and Fannie (Kirkland) Fortenberry, several natural siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.
Janet was born on January 14, 1954 and welcomed into our family as a nine month old precious baby. She won the hearts of our family with the most beautiful smile. Her personality radiated joy with that smile throughout her earthly journey. In her cards, letters, and notes to others she always wrote “In God We Trust” on the flap of the envelope.
Janet grew up in Beaumont and graduated from French High School in May 1972. In October she married her sweetheart James (Jim) Hollis Bryant and they were blessed with two daughters Kathy Bryant and Amanda Lee Sullivan of Chester and two sons Thomas Edward Bryant of Humble and James Daniel Bryant of Woodville and five grandchildren.
Janet was interested in the family genealogy of her natural and adopted families. In the 1990’s she composed a family tree directory including births, marriages, and deaths. Her love of quilting was apparent in the many quilts she made for so many second and third baby cousins. She would visit our only surviving at the time, aunt Marjorie Barnes of Chester until she physically was unable to do so. She had diabetes and complications caused the amputation of several toes and later her foot. In the last year she began to lose her sight. Even with these trials her sprit and faith remained strong and positive as she always wrote “In God We Trust”.
There were times she would call cousins and ask for prayer for loved ones who were battling an illness or a problem. There are two scriptures that immediately come to mind when we think of our Janet: Isaiah 55:12, “You shall go out in JOY and be led forth in PEACE. The mountains and hills will burst into song before you and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”2 Corinthians 4:16-18,” Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal”.
Janet will be missed by her husband, children, grandchildren, her brother Wayne Brown of Sour Lake and cousins Dianne (Billinsley) Friend of Waco, the Barnes of Chester, Betty-Ann Whitworth, Charles Ray, and Kathy Stanley, the Mahans, Jimmy of Jasper and Martha Kimbrough of Woodville.
As Janet would say, “In God We Trust”, while we say “what a day of rejoicing that will be when we all get to heaven”, and “Thank You, Father, our Janet is healed”.
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