Sofia "Liany" Ileana Bryan

Sofia Ileana “Liany” Bryan, age 91 of Amarillo entered the gates of Heaven on January 20, 2023.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, January 23, 2023 at 10:00 AM at Schooler Funeral Home, Brentwood Chapel, 4100 South Georgia.  The interment will be at Westlawn Cemetery in Borger at 2:00 PM.  Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, Amarillo.

Liany was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on August 24, 1931 to her parents Palmiro Melendez  and Sofia Grillasca.  She grew up on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico and there too she met the young US Army man, James ‘Jim’ Riley Bryan.  On June 18, 1955 the couple were married in Puerto Rico and that started the love story that would last the next fifty seven years until Jim’s death in 2012.

The couple moved to Fritch, Texas in 1955 where their two sons, Jim and Jay grew up.  They were active in the First United Methodist Church in Fritch for many years.  She was a member of Beta Sigma Phi and a hospital volunteer. The couple moved to Amarillo in 2012 just shortly before the death of her beloved husband.

Liany was a graceful, sophisticated and beautiful woman who also happened to be very witty and intelligent.  She never left the house without getting dolled up and in fact she wore lipstick to bed most nights because she always wanted to look beautiful to Jim.  Even as she grew older, she had a childlike spirit that was evident in her love for all things “princess” and sweets, especially cookies and peach cobbler. Liany was a kind hearted and caring individual that was dedicated to her family and a loyal Christian.  She loved Jesus, Billy Graham and Charles Stanley.  She also had an affinity for Hallmark movies and a slight obsession with Mickey & Minnie Mouse.    She will be deeply missed by all that loved and knew her.

Liany was preceded in death by her parents; her brother Edwin Melendez; her sister Daphne Melendez Rivera; and her husband James Riley Bryan.

She is survived by her two sons, Jim Bryan and his wife Monique on Canyon and Jay Bryan of Forest Hills, Texas; three grandchildren, Niki Brown and her husband Andrew, Allie Bryan and Dusty Bryan; and a great-granddaughter, Nellie Brown.