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A HUMBLE SERVANT
Irene M. Bryant was born in Morristown, New Jersey, and grew up in a tight-knit suburban Black community known as Collinsville. She was one of eight children born to Isaac and Celeste Martin. Irene met and married her high school sweetheart; Linny Bryant – the star running back of New Jersey’s #1 high school football team in 1948. After receiving her high school diploma, Irene graduated from Dover Business School.

Irene and Linny had five children: Renee, Ingrid, Iris, Martin and Michael. In 1967 Martin, who was a hemophiliac, died of a brain hemorrhage at 3 years old, and four years later, Iris fainted in front of the house in August and died four months later of a rare pulmonary condition at the age of 13. When Irene put her thoughts about grieving the loss of two children within less than five years into words, her words were so poignant that she became the published author of a book called Iris in 1973.

While Irene was raising her children, she stayed busy in the community and in the church. She played the piano and the organ for her church, directed church choirs, and typed church bulletins. Irene helped to organize a “Mother’s Club” for the neighborhood kids. If you were lucky enough to grow up in Collinsville, you had Irene to thank for going to Broadway plays and being at the Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall. You had the Mother’s Club to thank for using parents as chaperones at community dances and imposing its philosophy that it takes a village to raise its children.

In 1985 Irene and Linny decided to relocate to Hampton, VA. Renee and Ingrid were both happily married, and they had four grandchildren who fondly called them “Opa and Oma.” Irene’s church in Morristown, NJ gave her a tributary going away service; hundreds of people filled the church to commend her service. Resolutions were read into the church records and plaques honoring her service to the choirs were handed to Irene. People lined up in the fellowship hall to say good-bye to a true servant of God. Irene had given 30 years of service to Bethel A.M.E. Church in Morristown. There were plenty of hugs and tears, but it was particularly special to see a healthy African-American couple retire at 55 years of age and move south. Linny was planning to spend his time fishing in the many waterways throughout the Hampton area, and Irene was headed for Bethel AME in Hampton, where she would continue her service to the Lord, her church and her community.

Shortly after relocating to Hampton, Irene began the first regular employment of her life, working for the American Red Cross Donor Center of Hampton. In addition to working at the Red Cross, Irene and her husband volunteered at Sentara Hospital. Irene played the piano for evening activities at the Senior Center.

When Irene’s husband died in December of 1999, she sold their beautiful home and found a senior living apartment big enough to fit her baby grand piano. She was ready to embark on the next chapter of her life in Hampton. By 2005, Irene had watched many of her peers become ill or physically unable to get around, and according to her, it seemed like she was attending a funeral every month. So Irene decided to move closer to her children in Delaware and New Jersey.

The “Good-Bye” service at Bethel AME Church in Hampton was another beautiful tribute to her service. Irene had been a faithful member of The Eastern Stars and a Past Worthy Matron. She had directed the children’s choir and filled in whenever the church needed a pianist. Again, there were lots of hugs and tears. When Irene settled in, the night after Bethel of Hampton’s good-bye service, she said that attending the services honoring her at Bethel in Morristown and Bethel in Hampton felt like she was attending her own funeral, and while she loved serving the Lord, she did not want the fanfare associated with anymore farewell services for herself.

When Irene joined Bethel AME Church of Wilmington, for the first time in her church life, she didn’t offer to play the piano. Irene quietly served on the Stewardess Board until her dementia and Parkinson’s disease hampered her ability to communicate. When Irene was no longer able to live independently, her daughters took her in. She’d spend half of the week with Renee in Newark and half of the week with Ingrid in Camden. But Irene repeatedly reminded them that she had prepared for assisted living and they were doing too much by taking her into their homes. In 2012, Irene’s daughters finally conceded that her needs required an around-the-clock nursing facility and after a brief stay in a facility in Voorhees, Irene settled in at Gilpin Hall in Wilmington. She was immediately comfortable at Gilpin, where Renee and Chris were able to stop in regularly, and the nurses and staff fell in love with “Ms. I,” her sense of humor and her feisty character. Despite her dementia, when Irene went into parenting mode, she could clearly communicate her thoughts.

From 2010 until the 1st Sunday in December of 2017, Irene’s family made sure that she was in church every Sunday. She loved getting dressed for church, singing hymns and listening to the word of God. Neither her dementia nor her Parkinson’s disease could get in the way of her praising the Lord. She never faltered in reciting the familiar rituals and responsive readings of the AME church. After church, Irene enjoyed spending time with her daughters and their family and friends.

Every Sunday was Mother’s Day at the Joyner house in Newark, Delaware. There, Irene’s family made sure that she had whatever she wanted to eat; including her favorite desserts. Irene never turned down a scoop of ice cream; if she was too full for dessert after dinner, and saw a “Wendy’s sign on the way back to Gilpin; she’d ask whether they had time to stop and get a vanilla frosty. Irene was so proud of her daughters and how well she was being taken care of. She’d prance into Gilpin with a Junior Frosty in her hand and spoke to everyone; showing off the fact that unlike most of her fellow residents, she had gone to church and had spent another full day with her family.

December 2, 2017, was the last time that Irene attended church at Bethel. Irene didn’t lift her head or sing during the church service, and we all feared that the next chapter in her life was not going to include going to church. On December 24, Irene’s eldest grandchild, Nikki, took her out on her last shopping excursion. The next day we enjoyed our last Christmas together, a full day of fun and family games. Although Irene was weak, she laughed and joked with us all day.

Two weeks later, on January 8th, when Irene took her last trip to Newark for our family dinner, she didn’t want to eat any more and she turned down an offer of ice cream. Two days later, on January 10th, Mahogany, one of her two oldest grandchildren, held her cup while she sipped her last vanilla milk shake. Irene passed away on Friday, January 19, 2018, surrounded by her loving family.

She is preceded in death by her husband, William Linwood Bryant; her parents, Isaac and Celeste Martin; four brothers, Jack, Richard, T. D., and Isaac, Jr.; two sisters, Kate and Venia; and three children, Michael, Iris, and Martin.

Irene leaves to cherish her memories, one sister, Amy Anderson; two daughters, Renee Joyner (Chris) and Ingrid French; four grandchildren, Nikki Shanisa Joyner, Mahogany French, James and Andrew Joyner and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family and friends.

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