William B. Bryant II, a man of many talents, dies at 97

WILLIAM B. Bryant II had enough careers in his long life to occupy several men. For starters try farmer, coal miner, horse groomer and hotel bellhop.

But he found his true niche in life as a caterer and club manager on the Philadelphia Main Line, where his snapper soup became legendary.

William Bryant, a personable man who in his later years spent many hours cheering the lives of nursing-home residents and shut-ins with his charm and joyous personality, died Saturday of injuries suffered in an auto accident on April 29.

He was 97 and lived in Wynnefield.

"He had been very healthy," said his son, William B. III. "Very strong and mentally alert."

But he suffered brain injuries when his car collided with another vehicle at 68th Street and Haverford Avenue.

He had just had his driver's license renewed for another four years.

William was born in Vandalia, Mo., where he worked on farms from childhood.

As a teenager, he became a coal miner. He moved to Rockford, Ill., to live with an aunt and uncle and grew up there. He worked as a hotel bellhop and a part-time horse groomer.

In 1942, he made a trip East and landed in Philadelphia.

On his first day visiting an acquaintance, he was hired at the former Walber's on the Delaware, his first taste of the food industry.

His life took another turn in 1947, when he married the former Clara Adele Alexander. They became a team. They joined together to run the Cynwyd Tennis Club where William managed the club's affairs and Clara operated the food concession.

At the same time, he ran a catering business that served many generations of Main Line families for 47 years.

He kept a collection of hundreds of Christmas cards from the families he served who never forgot him or his snapper soup.

The soup was made from a special recipe developed by his wife's great-uncle.

The husband-and-wife team worked at the tennis club until 1974, when they moved to the Women's Club of Bala Cynwyd, where they performed the same duties until his retirement in 1994.

William joined Vine Memorial Baptist Church in 1945. He served as a trustee for 52 years, was a former trustee's chairman and treasurer and worked on numerous church committees. He especially enjoyed his association with the Willing Workers Club. He was often honored for his church work.

After his retirement, he lived a year at his summer home in Cape May, then returned to Philadelphia. His wife died in 1999.

Although William didn't cook much during his work with the Main Line clubs or his catering company, he stepped into the kitchen after his retirement and started cooking a special recipe of chicken corn soup.

He took the soup to grateful residents of nursing homes, neighbors and his many friends around the city.

His son said the word that best describes is father is "charismatic."

"He was personable and charming. He loved to talk. And he had a million stories to tell," his son said. "He was very forthright. You always had a sense of who he was."

William was also a big Phillies fan and was as thrilled as everybody else in the city when they won the World Championship.

Besides his son, William is survived by two sisters, Elizabeth Shephard and Edith Salmon.

Services: 11 a.m. tomorrow at Vine Memorial Baptist Church, 5600 W. Girard Ave. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Mount Lawn Cemetery, Sharon Hill. *