Michael Anders Bryan

Scott Valley pioneer descendant and 2019 Siskiyou County Cattleman of the Year, Mike Bryan, 83, died on November 28, 2019, at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, after suffering a stroke. Bryan was born on June 10, 1936, in Medford, OR, to Frank and Ann Storgard Bryan and grew up on the family ranch in Scott Valley. He is survived by his wife, Lynne; son, Scott Bryan of Van Nuys, CA; daughters, Michelle Bryan Oroschakoff (Orlin) of Rancho Santa Fe, CA, Shannon Bryan (Aaron Yablon) of Plano, Texas, and Katie Bryan Morris (Jim) of Scott Valley; grandchildren, Johnathan Bryan, Jeremiah Bryan, Timothy Bryan, Catriona Bryan, Gabriella Bryan, Emma Morris, Ben Morris, Will Morris, and Matthew Fee, as well as great-grandson, Dominic Bryan. Mike was the great-grandson of James Bryan who served as an Army sergeant stationed at Fort Jones, and who settled in Scott Valley as a rancher and packer in 1852, and of Charles Hovenden, another pioneer rancher. Mike graduated from Etna High School and Oregon State College (now University), where he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. He married Lynne Bates in Portland, Oregon in 1958, a marriage that lasted 61 years. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard as a lieutenant and became the first Coast Guard officer to have a SCUBA diving berth. After his service, he and Lynne returned to the family ranch in Scott Valley, which he operated until his retirement. Mike was an active member of his community, serving as President and Board member of Pleasure Park, President of the Coordinated Resource Management Plan, President of the Scott Valley Irrigation District, member of the Siskiyou County Farm Bureau, and a director for the Siskiyou County Cattlemen’s Association. He was a member of the Siskiyou County Planning Commission, a board member of the Top of the State Back Country Horsemen, member of the RCD committee for many years, a local events announcer for the Scott Valley Pleasure Park Rodeos, as well as announcer for the Rodeo Parade and the Veterans’ Parade, a cowboy poet with many appearances for charitable organizations, Siskiyou County Farm Bureau “Man of the Year,” the published author of “Tall Tales and Mountain Trails,” a collection of funny family stories and poems, illustrated by his close friend and next-door neighbor, the late Skip Hanna. The community service he was most proud of was being co-founder with Lynne of Citizens for Orderly Growth, a concerned citizens organization which defeated a Los Angeles developer’s plan to develop a 10,000 lot subdivision in Plowman’s Valley. He then served on the committee that developed the Scott Valley Plan, enacted into law in 1980, which has helped to maintain the agricultural base of Scott Valley. Mike and Bink Sherman started Bryan and Sherman Packing, a mountain packing and guide service, in 1988. Being on his horse Twist in the Marble Mountains, Trinity Alps, and Russian Wilderness was his place of peace and contentment and was the source of many of his stories and poems. Mike was a Christian, a member of the Scott Valley Berean Church, and served on the church Missions Committee. He volunteered as a driver for the Scott Valley Food Bank. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 11:00 AM at the Scott Valley Berean Church in Etna, with a potluck afterward. A private family graveside service will be held at the Fort Jones Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Kidder Creek Orchard Camps, PO Box 208, Greenview, CA 96037; Scott Valley Berean Church Missions Committee, PO Box 716, Etna, CA 96027; or Scott Valley Scholarship Fund, PO Box 352, Etna, CA 96027.

Michael Anders Bryan

June 10, 1936 - November 28, 2019