John Bryan
John Bryan, 80, of Edmonton, died on January 18th, 2017 after a long battle with ME/CFS. He is survived by his wife Pamela, daughter Jayne (Steve) Low, sister Sheila Steadman of England, and five beautiful grandchildren; Dallin (Katie) Low, Ashton (Tim) Whidden, Jocelyn (Eric) Torrie, Bryanne (Jake) Gubler, and Marin Low, and four great-grandchildren;
Renne, Addison and Mason Whidden and Payton Torrie, with Dallin and Katie’s first child due any day.
Born in West Hartlepool, England on November 4, 1936, John lived to ride his bike. His passion for cycling brought him acclaim in North East England as a young man and numerous Canadian and Alberta Championships. He took great pleasure in mentoring up and coming young and not-so-young cyclists, many of whom became life-long friends.
John and Pam shared a love for cycling and nature, leading them to share an adventurous life living and making friends in five countries and cycling together in some of the most beautiful places in the world. A modern man in many ways, John steadfastly supported Pam in her many endeavors in sport, business and life.
God speed John. Trixie, Kimo and Sebastian are waiting for you at the bridge.
I’m so sorry for you loss Pam, John is resting peacefully now! Love you!
Thank you so much Kim. I am so grateful he is no longer in pain.
So much love to you and your family Pam. What a gift to find a fellow adventurer in this life! Many hugs for your grief. XOXOX Uttama
Thank you Uttama. As challenging as the last 15 years have been, we had an amazing run together and I learned so much from John and through being his partner in this life. It is good.
As a young teen beginning bike racing in the 1970’s, I remember John’s strength, good humour, and enthusiasm for cycling. John was there at every event and training ride in the Edmonton region, living his life well.
Thank you Alan, for taking the time to remember and share – 4 decades later! I hope life, and the bike have been good to you. I am certainly grateful I got to share the adventure with John.
I am so pleased I got to know John, a wee tiny bit, and discover the sweet heart and soul of the man who captured my friends heart and inspired her passion for cycling to professional levels of skill. I wished I’d known him years before. He seemed like a truly amazing person. I am sorry for this great loss of your life partner. Our prayers are with you.
Thank you Devanie and James. I look forward to seeing you soon and sharing an amazing story. Dev, he had the tapes you shared with him right up until the last day. It was one of the things he asked me to bring to him in hospital and I believe it gave him strength for the final journey.
A nice tribute to John. I love that painting, captures his determination and drive and exuberance ! I’ll miss him.
Thanks Ross. Yes, our friend Mark Holliday is very talented and that was one of the most wonderful presents John ever received. I have the photo somewhere at home. And yup, exuberance is one thing you and John could understand about each other 🙂
I only knew him as a cyclist. Tough and determined and stronger than most of us…and 20 or more years older! A throw back when we didn’t what a throw back was. He remains an inspiration to me every time I get on my bike and particularly when I pass people a lot younger. Sorry for your loss Pam.
Thank you Andrew. I’m glad his determination has helped you on the bike, heaven knows one needs a little extra bit of that from time to time when fatigue sets in with kilometers/miles still to go. Some of the saddest moments for me after he became ill were when I had to wait for him on the bike. That somehow just did not seem right, and I was so impressed that he was able to overcome his pride and carry on trying as his strength faded. He accepted simply not being able to ride any longer and instead raced up and down the hallways with his walker instead, giving the nurses a fright that he would trip. He never did.
Pam and the family please accept our condolence in the passing of a dear old
cycling friend who many of us rode with and against over the years in events
in Edmonton or Calgary on road or track. John we will all miss you so very
much .
Thank you Mike. Your comments mean a lot to us.
Big hugs to you Pam! Our thoughts and prayers are with you. May your beautiful memories comfort you and bring you peace.
Thank you Andrea and Andy. And yes, they are starting to.
Condolences to all of you. So sorry to hear about our departed love ones. God needs him more than us here on earth. I am sure he enjoyed a wonderful life with his families and friends. Please be strong for each other. My thoughts and prayers to you Jayne and your family.
Thank you May.
So sorry to hear this. John was a close friend years ago in Edmonton. Mostly training together. He also had a great singing voice. John a great guy will be missed.
To our dearest Pam and family, may the happy memories and love fill your heart Love Joanne and Claude Breau
Thank you Joanne and Claude. I wish you two many, many more happy decades together on the bike and skis.
Pam, I have many memories of races together with John. He was one tough competitor. MY condolances to you. I can still see you on the track and John yelling out encouragementscto you. Those were the days!!
Hey Carmen! It is great to hear from you. I hope you are well and enjoying life. Ah yes, those days on the track. Not much chance I would not hear John’s voice in the crowd! Take care friend.
I have some fond memories of John during the days iof cycling in Edmonton,
I am so sorry that john had to endure the suffering.
My condolences to the family
Frank ludtke
Thank you Frank. Over the years John shared many stories and pictures of races with you. I hope you are still as well as possible and enjoying life. I am very grateful John is now at peace.
Pam:
I didn’t ride much with John and you, but John definitely left an impression on me, and probably on many of those he rode with and near. He had passion, determination, strength and high expectations for himself and others. Please take care of yourself.
Best wishes,
John Plant
Thank you John. There is certainly no denying John had a presence 🙂 I am surrounded by people who love me and am taking care ~ including reading these comments with a smile and just the odd tear.
the children of cuba cycling are very grateful to John for his very glamorous donation to our group ii Las Tunas
What can I say Peter? tee hee. He was very grateful to know his beloved bike would continue to be loved. I have a pretty fancy pair of carbon fibre handlebars, too wide for me. Let me know if you could find a home for them/it and send me the address if mail works. Of course they are very light.
Such drive, such ambition, it kept him going! Our love to you Pam, and Reiki en route!!xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thank you Annie and JP. I hope to collect that Reiki in person soon enough. John’s spirit was sent on its way with good energy and love.
My first recollection of John was helping him move….not boxes…or the furniture..but just the fridge! And up too may steps! But, John was a salesman. A bike race with John in attendance was a bike race….followed by a total recap of the bike race. But he was always the professional of riders and one to acknowledge the good work of organizers and fellow competitors. When John met Pam….he had a built-in prospect to coach…and a life partner and so life carried on! Always a stand-out guy and friend in all aspects of his life. Always in the big ring John.
A missed opportunity. Bill Thompson had suggested we make a visit to John soon in the new year. Sorry to hear that won’t happen. Wish you the most happy memories of John as this year passes.
My deepest sympathy. Let your memories of a life well lived and à man well loved.
So your riding on ahead John catch up to you later. Just remember Pam “Don’t touch the effing brakes” !
Pam, love the tribute to Johnny! We’ll miss the old wanker, his intensity, energy, humor and his love. So sad to see him suffer over the years, he’s in a better place now. Looking forward to our pub night to share stories!
Pam, We were so sad to hear of John’s death. Although we have not seen you both for many years (in fact we did not know you lived in Edmonton) we often talk about the racing days and what a fierce competitor John always was, with an amazing dedication to, and enthusiasm for, the sport. Apart from cycling, John was always fun to be around with a great sense of humour. Our sincere condolences to you and the family.
Dear Pam, I first met John skiing, I had heard so much about this man prior to the meeting, well it was passion both on skis and the bike. I have many memories of races with John, who could match his strength and determination? I must have pulled my weight as he was pretty good to me. Mark, captured an amazing painting of him. The cycling community is pretty amazing, it keeps on changing, but some things stay the same. I am so glad our paths have crossed during the years and may this continue to happen. May John rest in peace.
I am so sorry to hear about John. I remember time trials on 22x with John and Carmen. John was a machine. Always interesting and challenging riding with John,May he rest in peace.
Pam: My sincere condolences for your loss. I’ll never be able to forget John. He was the first cyclist I met when we arrived in Edmonton in 1974. That first winter he stayed back with me the very first time I had skis on my feet, and I can still hear him telling me over and over and over again “Lean forward Peter!!”. After I got back into full-time racing in the late 1980’s, John’s presence was a significant factor in two of the best races I ever rode, as I didn’t want to let him down, or let myself down in front of him. Among the hundreds of songs I listen to while doing indoor intervals in the winter are all Tom Jones’ hits, and every time one comes on I hear John again.
My sincere condolences Pam.
John was a wonderful character to meet on life’s journey.