In Memoriam: Bill (Hugh William) Bryant

1931-2012

From the 15 March 2013 issue of The Billet, South Texas Chapter newsletter

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To view the HPS History Committee interview with Bill Bryant, click here.

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Bill (Hugh William) Bryant of Austin, Texas, passed away 9 November 2012. Bill was born in Cosby, Tennessee, on 4 April 1931. He married his wife, Alice Redmond, on 18 June 1954. Bill served his country as a veteran of the Korean War in the United States Air Force. He worked at Convair/General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Texas, for 19 years in the Nuclear Aircraft and Space Propulsion Division. He gave a fascinating presentation of some of his work on the nuclear powered jet at a recent South Texas Chapter-Health Physics Society (HPS) meeting. Some of the radiation detection instruments Bill calibrated for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration were left on the moon as part of the Apollo Program.

He was later employed for over 19 years at the University of Texas at Austin, where he retired as the director of Environmental Safety and Health. He was a charter member and an emeritus and fellow member of the HPS. Bill was an avid golfer and enjoyed serving his church and community as a basketball and softball coach, Sunday school teacher, superintendent, and deacon, most recently at Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin, Texas.

In Bill's words, "God has been good to me, gave me a great family and has provided every need." Bill is survived by his daughters and their spouses, Betty and Russell Barrett, Rhonda and Ken O'Brien, and Donna and Rodney Lowry.