ANDREW FRANKLIN 'FRANKIE' BRYAN

Mr. Andrew Franklin Bryan, better known to us as Frankie Bryan, left his Earthly body on the morning of Monday, March 14, 2022, at his home in DeFuniak Springs, Florida.  He was 52 years old when he entered his eternal home.  Frankie was born on Monday, March 31,1969, as the only child, to N. Dewitt Bryan and Barbara Jean (Arnold) Bryan Vann at the Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Frankie may have been an only child, but he had many cousins and four stepsisters to find mischief with throughout his childhood.  To hear him tell it he was always the one who ended up being pushed in the lake by his sister Jackie, dodging a punch from his sister Melony, or trying to stay ahead of the shenanigans that his cousins, Doug Bryan and Jimmy Miller, had in for him when they were together at Granny Bryan’s house.  He said you never wanted to mess with his cousin LaDawn (Bryan) Marse because she would fight you like a boy and his sisters Kim and Josie were always fun to pick on to see if he could get them in trouble when they were going anywhere with all of three of them in the backseat of the car, a resounding “Stop Touching Me” always went along with this story to include his mom trying to reach around from the front seat to pop one of them, which ended in an interesting game of bob and weave to make sure you weren’t the one she managed to grab.  Frankie always talked of weekends spent with his cousins, Kim (Miller) Rice and Doug Bryan, sharing their favorite beverages and life events since they were last together.  He loved each of them for the parts they had played in his life and the memories he shared with each of them.

Frankie loved to fish! He would often reminisce about fishing trips with his uncle Orville and his cousins down to the fishing hole by Granny’s house with an ole cane pole and that one of the best lessons he ever learned was to pay attention when Granny Bryan was a castin’.  You see there was this one time that he ended up with a wiggler on a hook in his cheekbone because he walked behind her during one of her epic cane pole casts.  When he told the story he always had to show you the scar he had to prove it.  Frankie continued his love of fishing into adulthood.  He was always happy with a fishing rod in his hand and it didn’t matter if he caught anything or perhaps it was because of the time he spent with his dad fishing that he loved the most.

Frankie developed a love of cooking early in life as he spent many hours with his Memaw Arnold in the kitchen as a child.  You could find him pulled up on a wooden stool beside her at the stove or sitting up on the counter beside her snapping beans, shelling peas, or doing whatever task his little hands could manage. Frankie had fond memories of Sunday dinners at his Memaw’s house which usually consisted of fried chicken with all the fixins.  He was right proud of the fact that he knew how to cut up a chicken at an early age.  Frankie took great pride in his culinary creations and always encouraged others to expand their palate and to be adventurous and try something new and exotic.

Frankie was also a huge, die-hard Florida Gator Football fan.  He spent many a Saturday watching college football and reeving his friends about how their teams were doing.  He always said Florida Gators were his favorite team and his second favorite was any team playing against the Georgia Bulldogs or Florida State Seminoles.

Frankie is preceded in death by his mother, Barbara Jean (Arnold) Vann, and by his maternal grandparents, Bennie and Lila (Gressette) Arnold and his paternal grandparents, Andrew and Gladys (Peters) Bryan.  Frankie is survived by his wife and soulmate, Donna Honish-Bryan, three children, two stepsons and two grandchildren, daughter, Susannah Bryan plus grandson, Xander Clark and granddaughter, Lily Rabb of Ackworth, GA, son, Benjamin and wife, Celina Bryan of Dallas, GA, daughter, Makenzie Bryan of Kingston, TN, stepson, Austin Brumit of Hiram, GA and stepson, Curtis Rice of DeFuniak Springs, FL.  Frankie is also survived by his father and stepmother, N. Dewitt and Sarah Bryan of Freeport, FL, his stepfather Joe Vann of DeFuniak Springs, FL, his stepsisters, Melony (Blackwell) Jacobs of Summerville, South Carolina, Jackie (Blackwell) Anderson of DeFuniak Springs, FL, Josie (Vann) and Richard Billington of Las Vegas, NV and Kimberly (Vann) and husband Rob Thrasher of Las Vegas, NV.  Frankie is also survived by two brother-in-laws and a sister-in-law, Joseph and wife, Amy Honish of DeFuniak Springs, FL, Denise (Fannin) and husband, Bobby Rodgers of Freeport, FL and Jimmy and wife, Jennifer Fannin of Freeport, FL and a host of nephews and nieces. Frankie had hundreds of friends he considered family including Chad Davis, Craig Summers, David Vogl, Jeff Atkisson and Craig Anthony.  Frankie was a member of Rock Baptist Church of Dallas, GA.  The family would like to give a special thanks to his sister-in-law, Denise (Fannin) Rodgers, his father-in-law, Michael and wife Shirley Honish, his Family Physician, Dr. Garry Banks and staff of Niceville, FL, his Oncologist, Dr. Olu Gbolahan located at UAB of Birmingham and the staff of Emerald Coast Hospice for the loving and compassionate care they gave to our beloved Frankie during his three year battle with colon cancer.

A celebration of life for Frankie Bryan will be held Saturday, March 26, 2022, in Jerry Evans Chapel, 668 Walton Road, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433 at 2:00 P.M.  Following the service, friends and family will gather on the lawn of Jerry Evans Funeral Home to spend time with Frankie’s family and to discover even more about Frankie through his love of food and beverages.  Please plan to bring your own chair to enjoy the festivities. In lieu of flowers, Frankie wished for you to consider making a memorial in his memory to Cancer Freeze at http://www.cancerfreeze.org/.  Friends and family may go on line to view obituaries, offer condolences and sign the guest book at jerryevansfuneralhome.com