Anita Rutland Bryan
Anita Rutland Bryan entered into the presence of her Savior on November 15, surrounded by her family. We are heartbroken by her sudden loss, yet our hearts are filled with thankfulness for the incredible blessing she was in our lives.
Anita was born on August 10, 1945, to Fred and Helon Rutland. She grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and, after graduating from Central High School, studied education at Memphis University and received a Masters in Education from North Carolina State University.
Anita taught fourth grade at Lynn Road Elementary and Leesville Road Elementary in Raleigh for many years and then spent almost twenty years training police officers in the DARE school-based, drug awareness program. Her work took her many places, training officers across the country as well as on US military bases in Europe and Asia.
Anita's greatest joy was her family. In 1968, she married Robert “Bob” Preston Bryan, Jr. Together they raised two children, Robert Preston Bryan, III “Rob” and Melissa Rutland Bryan Kruger. Anita especially delighted in her nine grandchildren, who knew her as “Mimi.'' She was always up for fun and adventure—traveling, shopping, dancing, boating in Beaufort, cooking with and for her family, and attending countless sporting events, concerts, recitals, musicals, graduations and weddings.
As a longtime member of Hayes Barton United Methodist Church and the Seekers Sunday School class, Anita found deep community and served faithfully in ways seen and unseen. She lived a life marked by steady faith, joyful service, and a deep love for others. Like the woman described in Proverbs 31, she “set about her work vigorously,” using her gifts to care for others with strength and tenderness. She loved to cook, to welcome people at her table, and to offer hospitality that made everyone feel at home. Her quiet acts of service reflected the Scripture she cherished: to “practice hospitality” (Romans 12) and to “serve one another with the strength God supplies” (1 Peter 4).
Anita is preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband Bob, their two children and spouses, nine grandchildren and spouses, and a great grandson—Rob and Dottie Bryan: Elizabeth, Davis and Hank Swann, Jane Murry and Christian Hartch, Heyward Bryan and his fiance Avery Woolbert, Millie Bryan, Beau Bryan, Ann Randolph Bryan, and Melissa and Mike Kruger: Emma and Andrew Tang, John Kruger, and Kate Kruger.
A funeral service will be held at Hayes Barton United Methodist Church (2209 Fairview Road, Raleigh) on Friday, November 21 at 1 pm, with visitation following the service. Interment of her ashes will follow in the church’s columbarium. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Soddo Christian Hospital, the hospital that cared for her beloved grandson, Robert “Beau” Preston Bryan IV.
If you would like to view the funeral by livestream, you can join us at: https:/www.hbumc.org/live