Miriam Elvira Smart Bryan 

Miriam Elvira Smart Bryan (Mim), 94, of Burlington, MA, and formerly of Oceanport, NJ, and Allendale, SC, died January 26, 2022.

Miriam was the beloved wife for 63 years of the late Joseph F. Bryan (1920-2009), and was predeceased by her parents Lewis and Belle Smart, siblings Nicholas, Louise, and Wini Smart Quackenbush, and granddaughter Lydia Sobey. She is survived by her children, Rick Bryan (Suzie), Kath Sobey Kaminer (Paul), Kip Bryan (Patty), and Bob Bryan (Louise), 14 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.

Miriam loved volunteering for local and civic organizations. She graduated from Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, NJ, and Point Pleasant Beach High School, NJ, and also attended the University of South Carolina .

Mim lovingly served her Presbyterian Churches in Red Bank, NJ, and Allendale, SC, as Elder, Church Clerk, Sunday School teacher, and church newsletter editor. She was a member of the Community United Methodist Church of Wayland, MA.
With her husband Joe, Mim extensively researched the family’s genealogical roots, discovering ancestors from the earliest days of NJ, GA, and SC.

Mim was the first woman on the Borough Council of Oceanport, NJ and helped create several riverfront parks.  An avid gardener, she was a National Council Flower Show Master Judge and a co-founder and past president of the Oceanport Garden Club, NJ.  

Mim worked as a real estate saleswoman and as a reporter for a NJ newspaper. She was president of the League of Women Voters of the Red Bank Area and of the Monmouth County Council, NJ.

She was Citizen of the Year in 2004 in Allendale, SC, and a member of
the Fairfax Garden and Study Club, Allendale County Arts Council, Allendale Co. Family and Community Leaders, and Allendale Book Study Club.

Her family cherishes her memory with love and affection.  

Funeral Arrangements were by Keith Smith Funeral Service,128 Water
Street, Allendale, SC 29810 (803) 584-2492. Memorial service 2:00 pm on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at Allendale Presbyterian Church. Miriam was interred next to her husband Joe at Beech Branch Church, Luray, SC. 

The family is planning a virtual memorial event for Mim on Thursday, February 17, 2022, at 7:00 PM EST. It will take place via Zoom, with details to be announced.