BRYAN WAS BORN SEPTEMBER 18, 1973 IN MAYFIELD, KY.  THERE IS SOME QUESTION AS TO WHETHER BRYAN TOOK HIS LIFE OCTOBER 18, 2004 OR IF IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. HE HAD BEEN REALLY DEPRESSED AND HAD BEEN THREATENING TO TAKE HIS LIFE, BUT HIS BROTHER, RANDY SAYS HE FELT THEY HAD CONVENIENCED BRYAN NOT TO DO SO. HE HAD A GUN IN HIS LEFT HAND (HE IS RIGHT HANDED) HIS THUMB WAS IN THE TRIGGER AND HE BELIEVES BRYAN WAS TRYING TO GET HIS (FAT) THUMB OUT AND THE GUN WENT OFF. WHICH EVER WAY IT HAPPENED, WE LOST HIM THAT TERRIBLE NIGHT. WE HAD JUST CELEBRATED HIS 31ST BIRTHDAY THE MONTH BEFORE. BRYANS BROTHER JIMMY, WHO DIED @ 3 DAYS OLD IN 1966,  WOULD HAVE BEEN 38 THE DAY AFTER BRYANS DEATH. I HAVE ADDED  JIMMYS PICTURES. 

I HAVE WRITTEN SOME OF THE DETAILS IN THE TIMELINE ABOUT THE NIGHT I GOT THE CALL THAT MY PRECIOUS BABY BOY SHOT HIMSELF. THE CALL NO PARENT SHOULD GET.  

  

I have added a picture of Bryan & his nieces & nephew taken about 13 yrs ago.  He was known as the class clown in school.  He was voted most mischievous his senior year.  Where did this wonderful, fun loving person go????????
                                                              
This is a paper Bryans niece (my GRANDDAUGHTER) Bethany Story (Boo Bear as Bryan called her ) did for school.  I think it says more than anyone can.


THIS IS BRYAN'S LEGACY - HE LOVED W/ALL HE HAD. HE GAVE UNTIL HE FELT THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT. THE CHILDREN REMEMBER HIM BEST.
  
                                         WHO AM I

 - I would give anything, anything in this world for one more minute with him.  He could commit every crime one  hundred times over, and it would be all right, he was the cool one of the family, the one that kept me going.  He was  my awesome Uncle Bryan.  I can remember running into Grannys  house and yelling GRANNY!! UNCLE BRYAN DID A FLIP OFF THE SLIDE INTO THE POOL LIKE YOU TOLD HIM NOT TO!!! Getting Bryan in trouble when I was a little girl was always fun, but the fun really started when I got older and we got into trouble together.  From day one I have been Bryan Jr. Same hands, some facial expressions, same crazy sense of humor, same tender heart, almost  everything seemed to be the same.  If there is one person in my life that has had the greatest impact on my future and development as a person, it is without a doubt my Uncle Bryan.  I can't remember every detail of every memory, but I don't need to.  When I look back over the past I don't need those details, because I can feel his love just as strong without them.  My relationship with Bryan started the day I was born.  My friendship with Bryan started the day  I almost lost my dad.  I ran into the hospital that Easter Sunday, never knowing what to expect.   He lay in the hospital, his chance for survival to some extent, unsure.  The moment I got off the elevator Bryan was there, waiting for me.  I ran into
his open muscular arms and suddenly felt that everything was going to be all right,  as long as my Uncle  Bryan was holding me I would be okay.  The scent of Bryans clean shirt still fills my senses today.  After seeing my dad & crying a lot Bryan sat me and my sister down for one of his big brother talks.  He told us that we were stronger than him.  At the time I didn't know what he was talking about.  How could an 11 year old girl be stronger than a 27 year old guy? Up to this point I had made it through my parents divorce, and now I was making it through my dads awful accident that would forever be imprinted in my mind. Bryan was there through it all, many times. I wonder if I would have mentally and emotionally made it without him.  From that day forward, Bryan was my #1, my entire world & my best friend.   When I was around Bryan nothing else mattered &  no one else compared.  Late at night, in his shop Bryan would dance with me.  His short stocky body would twirl me around and I was on top of the world.  I can't remember all the songs; I don't remember any of the steps, all I remember is feeling safe, feeling like I mattered to someone.  Bryan & I spent countless hours in that shop.  We would talk about everything; what we would do when we won the lottery, the exciting activities tomorrow would hold, and we even talked about how he was going to fight my dad to walk me down the aisle at my wedding.  What I would give for one more dance, what I would give for one more moment in my life to feel the way I felt when I was with him.  I remember the night Bryan told me he & his wife, my Aunt Lesley, were going to have a baby.  I acted so happy but on the inside I was absolutely torn apart.  I had always been Bryans girl, I was his baby, and I couldn't  get over the fact that he was going to have a new girl, one more important. I know all of that sounds pretty selfish, but I don't care.  That  is how it was when it came to Bryan, he was mine, and I didn't want to share him with anyone.  Bryan must have seen right through my act.  That night in the shop, he told me that he could never be close to someone like he was close to me, not even his own child.  Those words meant volumes to me.  Needless to say, I love my baby cousin Raelee.  I rarely get to see her, but that can't & won't stop my love for her. As years passed Bryan was never taken down from number one in my life.  About 3 years ago, my sister got her drivers license.  We were cruising in that red Camry. I almost felt like Earnhart.  Making another long story short we had a wreck.  Anyone who was in the ER that afternoon  could easily tell you, I was going crazy.  I was lying there on that hospital bed  screaming for Bryan, neck brace  and all.  It took Bryan five minutes to get there while the average driving time was around twenty.  I wasn't  okay until he got by my side.  His sincere I'm here Boo Bear changed everything, and that was all I needed, he was all that I needed.   Many memories and many years passed  from the good ole days with my Uncle Bryan.  After living right next door for several years, he moved. I remember being so mad at him for leaving me; he didn't even call me after he moved.  His absence tore my heart into pieces.  Then out of the blue, months later, he called.  Bryan then started to call my house everyday and even came over a few times. Our  relationship was starting    to slowly mend and build back up.  I was the happiest I have been in a while.  Little did Iknow my cheerful & crazy Uncle Bryan had changed.  Now instead of always being happy, he was alone and hurting.  He & Lesley got a divorce & he seldom saw his young daughter Raelee.  He got more depressed, and more lonesome, he felt  like no one loved him anymore.  So on October 18, 2004, in a drunken rage my Uncle Bryan shot himself.  He shot himself where he hurt the most, his heart.  It kills me to think back to that night.  I lay sprawled on the wet grass of my Uncles front yard while the police asked questions.  My Uncles lifeless body was still on the ground where he landed.  Everything flashed before my eyes the moment I heard he was gone.  The morning at the hospital, our late night dances & conversations, my need for him when I was hurting, everything came back all at once.  Ir makes me angry  that Bryan didn't think of me, that he didn' t think of any  of us.  He will miss the most important times in my life, the times we always used to talk about.  I wont get to drive him around when I get my license in 5 months, I won't get to listen to him yell & embarrass me at my graduation, but most importantly, he wont be there to watch my daddy walk me down the aisle & give me away, wishing it were him.  No  Arkansas Barkin Spiders, no Rad a ta rad a ta ta.  I have my memories; they are forever  set in my heart.  I know what Bryan meant when he said I was stronger than him; he couldn't deal with it anymore and he left this burden on me.  I have to be strong and over come it. I don't want to live the rest of my life without him; I still don't want to share him.  I miss him so much, and I need him right now. On that chilly Friday morning I sat in the funeral home.  I wrote Bryan a simple letter and stuck it in the pocket over his heart,  hoping to mend it so he could  come back.  After kissing him and telling him that I  would  always be his girl, I watched them close the casket.  I would never see the face that resembled mine so much again.  When they placed Bryan in the ground that day, I was so scared; I didn't want him to be all alone in that cemetery.  Luckily when I got home I still felt his love in my  heart and I knew he wasn't alone, he never had been alone, I was always  with him and always will be until we meet again.  Bryan introduced me to the person I want to be.  I wanted to be stronger and smarter than everyone else simply because he thought I was, an I didn't want to let him down.  He was more concerned about my future than his own and that in turn led me to be focused & determined to be the best I can possibly be not only for me but for him.  His tenderness & sincerity helped me get through my times of need & helped  me overcome my pain.  Without his love & support, I never would have made it through all of lifes hard & difficult situations that have been thrown my way since I was a  child.  My Uncle Bryan  is the one person who has had the greatest impact on who I am today.  Bryan always ran to me when I needed him, now he flies to me. 

UPDATED MAY 18, 2007
BETHANY IS GRADUATING TONIGHT WITH A 4.1 AVERAGE. SHE HAS WON SEVERAL SCHOLARSHIPS. SHE WILL BE ATTENDING MURRAY STATE COLLEGE. SHE WANTS TO BE A ANESTHETIST ASSISTANT.