Edward Clark Bryant

Edward Clark Bryant

Edward Clark Bryant passed away on Jan. 17, 2008 in Scottsbluff, Neb. at the age of 92. Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. on Jan. 23 in Lusk at the Congregational Church.

Ed was born on June 28, 1915, the son of homesteaders Alpha C. and Pearl (Hunter) Bryant in the Hat Creek community north of Lusk. He attended the Hat Creek School and graduated from Lusk High School.

Ed attended the University of Wyoming, graduating in 1940 with an MS in Business and later earning his PhD in Statistics from Iowa State University. He married Virginia DeGering in 1941 and they enjoyed life together for the next 66 years. During the war years, Ed served as cadre in the infantry helping to train troops for combat, completed officer candidacy school and was assigned to the Pentagon as a statistician. He ended his military service stationed at the Middle Pacific Headquarters in Hawaii where he was involved in assessing the damage and possible value for future use of Pacific island harbors. In 1947, he returned to Laramie and UW where he developed the Statistics Department as professor and department head. Forced away from Laramie's high altitude by heart disease in 1961, he always looked back with fondness on his time in Laramie as a scholar, teacher, hunter, fisherman and father. He received several honors from the University of Wyoming, the most prestigious being the Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2000. Ed also authored and co-authored several professional papers and books, as well as two personal books, "Hat Creek and Hard Times" and "Out of Wyoming".

In 1961, Ed and two of his former students from UW, Jim Daley and Don King, founded Westat, an employee-owned statistical research company that has since grown to a corporation of nearly 2,000 full time employees and is generally recognized as the premier company in the field of survey research. Ed also guided Westat into the field of statistical quality control following the pioneer work in that area by his friend, Dr. Edwards Deming. In 1985 he retired from Westat but stayed on as a consultant for the rest of his life.

Ed's life was blessed with his loving family. Preceding him in death were his older brother Charles Bryant, son Eddie Bryant, daughter Bonnie Kirkpatrick and grandson Robbie Kirkpatrick. Surviving him are his wife Virginia and granddaughter Lisa Bryant, both of Scottsbluff, Neb.; granddaughter Katharina Freeman, her husband Joseph and their daughter Alexandra of Frederick, MD; granddaughter Katie Kirkpatrick of Colorado Springs, Colo.; and grandson Eric Bryant, his wife Darcy and their children Isaac, Elijah, Helena and Liam of Laramie.

Ed's life was touched by the lives of many people: students, employees, professional associates, friends and family. His hope was that he might have improved the lives of those that he touched as much as others had improved his own.

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