If you ever heard Patti laugh, her joyous “cackle” was unforgettable. In 1960, when I first heard her rattle the windows of the old Jesup Junior High School on Plum Street, she was Patti Park. And that was a lifelong signature for her. If Patti laughed, we all laughed.
Patti’s fun-loving charisma earned our Class of 1966’s superlative of “Best Personality.” After high school, she married her sweetheart, Kenny Bryant, who was voted “Friendliest” boy in our senior class.
Kenny and I were 165-pound “power” guards on the Yellow Jackets’ offensive line coached by Patti’s dad, Ben Park. Kenny told me several times, “I was scared of him.” He wasn’t alone.
Coach Park was all business. You dared not offer an excuse for missing your assignment, or you’d hear him howl, “Alibis, alibis!” But when Kenny and I hung up our helmets and cleats, we could thank Patti’s dad for putting hair on our skinny chests under those sweat-soaked shoulder pads.
As the years elapsed after graduation, Kenny and Patti Bryant became the power couple that helped to keep the Class of 1966 glued together. Long before cyber communication, Kenny and Patti operated the flow of news—good and sad—along our keep-in-touch pipeline.
Reunion after reunion, they were in the heart of the planning and making memories happen. The last mini reunion that I attended was in their home overlooking the fifth fairway of Pine Forest Country Club. The Bryant doors have always been open for everyone. And as you walked up their driveway, you were likely to hear Patti cackling.
On Feb. 16, Patti’s hometown and friends packed into the First United Methodist Church’s sanctuary. I have been to too many funerals to count, but I’ve never witnessed a more generous outpouring of love than was expressed from the standing-room-only crowd. When I hugged Kenny’s neck—during visitation—he said, “You are going to enjoy this service.”
Pastor Rebecca Duke-Barton led the way with eulogists Bob Morgan, Melba Murphy and granddaughter Graham Davis following. Bob told how Kenny and Patti became his “adopted” parents, opening their hearts and home to him for more than 40 years.
Melba rocked the sanctuary with story after story of Patti’s colorful life of commitment to family, friends, church and community, especially the WCHS Yellow Jackets. Granddaughter Graham invited the congregation inside the special relationship with her “MyB.” Moist eyes and sprinkles of laughter prevailed.
As a tornado touched down in Wayne County, Patti Park was born on April Fools’ Day, 1948, in the Ritch-Leaphart Hospital. And that funnel cloud was a no-joke omen of what was to come over the next 76 years. Patti was a “force of nature,” too. Whether it was cooking, church and civic volunteering, or shagging to beach music, Kenny’s bride didn’t slow down until her declining health demanded it.
As I absorbed the celebration of Patti’s life, I reflected on the first time that I heard her infectious cackle. And ever since 1960, her laughing has kept me laughing. Patti had a matter-of-fact approach to life, but it was always laced with her special brand of humor.
Kenny was right.
Sunday’s service was one that we’ll remember.
Who could ever forget Patti’s zeal for merriment and her window-rattling cackle?
Patti Park Bryant was a gift to all who knew her.
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com
