Harry Edson Bryan

Harry Edson Bryan, son of a pioneer Siskiyou County family, passed away on March 23, 2011, after a long illness. He died on the eve of his eightieth birthday at his home in Yreka, surrounded by his family. Harry was born in Yreka on March 24, 1931 to Leon Horan Bryan, of Fort Jones, and Ella Edith Prettyman Bryan, who grew up in Broken Bow, Nebraska. Harry was a fourth generation native of Siskiyou County. Although they grew up in Yreka, Harry and his older brother, Jim, spent much of their time on the family ranches in Scott Valley and what is now Lake Shastina and at the City Meat Market in Yreka which their parents owned. Harry graduated from Yreka High School in 1949 and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford University in 1954. After serving two years in the U.S. Army at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, during the Korea war, he returned to Stanford to complete a Master’s degree in civil engineering. Subsequently, he was licensed as a Registered Civil Engineer. After a short period working for CalTrans in Redding, he returned to Siskiyou County to join what would ultimately become Piemme & Bryan, Inc, Civil Engineers. About the same time he met, through mutual friends, Mary Ellen McLean. Mary Ellen was teaching at Monterey Peninsula College and Harry made the long commute from Yreka to Monterey many times. Harry and Mary Ellen were married on June 24, 1961, in Dunsmuir. They lived in Yreka during their nearly fifty years of marriage and were a team to the end. Engineering was a great love and his work efforts are evidenced throughout Siskiyou County. His projects included the Greenhorn dam project in the early 1960’s, the Fall Creek Water Project which still supplies Yreka’s water today, Yreka Sewage Treatment Plant, the Dorris municipal water system, civic projects in Etna as well as Forest Service road development primarily in the 1970’s, the Mount Shasta Ski Park, Fairchild Medical Center, and a variety of residential subdivision projects in which both his children have streets named for them and numerous other private, commercial and governmental work. For many years, he was the City Engineer for Etna, Dorris and Montague. A community-oriented man, he contributed to numerous civic efforts and local organizations during his life. He was a elected member of the Yreka Elementary School Board and a member of the Yreka Planning Commission for many years, and was an active member of Yreka Rotary, the Yreka Committee for Historic Preservation, the Siskiyou County Historical Society and the Red Scarf Society for the Performing Arts. Harry loved to ski. In addition to teaching his children, he taught ski school at the Mt. Shasta Herald Ski School at the old Mt. Shasta Ski Bowl during the 1960’s. A talented dancer, he loved square dancing as well as “cutting a rug” on the dance floor. His excellent memory and life long association with the county, his wide spread engineering jobs and his many relatives made him a most informative historical and geographical resource. His ability to use his low key, creative wit to diffuse, divert and entertain was a source of delight and relief to those who knew him. Harry is survived by his wife of nearly fifty years, Mary Ellen McLean Bryan, his daughter, Elena Bryan of Brussels, Belgium, his son and daughter-in-law, Emerson and Dee Dee Bryan, and his granddaughters Blakeley and McKenlee Bryan of Mount Shasta. He is also survived by his sister-in law, Betty Bryan, and his niece, Jennifer Bryan of Yreka, his nephew, Brian Bryan of Jacksonville, Florida and their familes; his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Norman and Susan McLean of Ukiah, his nieces, Leslie McLean of Oakland and Shawna Fross of Petaluma, their mother, Barbara McLean, and their families. He also leaves numerous cousins in Siskiyou County and across the United States as well as treasured friends and colleagues. Harry was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Jim, and Mary Ellen’s parents, Harry and Margaret McLean. Friends and family are cordially invited to attend a memorial reception for Harry Edson Bryan at the Miner’s Inn Convention Center on Monday, March 28 at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be made to Madrone Hospice, Fairchild Medical Center, the Red Scarf Society for the Performing Arts, to a scholarship in Harry’s honor at United Scholarships, Inc, or to the charity of one’s choice. Girdner Funeral Chapel is assisting the family.

Harry Edson Bryan

March 24, 1931 - March 23, 2011