Margaret A. Burum Bryant passed away in Bryan, Texas, on July 1, 2026. She was born in Canyon, Texas, on September 27, 1937. The daughter of M.H. Burum and Edith Day Burum, the family lived on a ranch near Dawn, Texas. When Margaret was a small child, they left the “Dust Bowl” for a farm with a small lake near the town of Maysville in Central Oklahoma. When Mr. Burum became a petroleum distributor in Maysville, they moved to the town. Margaret attended the public schools, graduating from Maysville High School in the Spring of 1955.

She entered the University of Oklahoma that fall, and pledged Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority. Many of her sorority sisters became lifelong friends. Because of her work for Alpha Gam, she was honored at three national conventions with awards.

After graduating from the University in 1959, she taught in elementary schools in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and in nearby Orchard Hills. In 1961, the United States Air Force recruited her to teach at a missile base near Taranto, Italy. That year, she traveled to Rome, Paris, London, and Sicily, and to the Middle East with colleagues for Christmas. When an Egyptian taxi driver they hired for a desert trip got lost and flooded the car, Margaret ordered him out of the driver’s seat, started the taxi, and drove them through the night, back to their hotel on the Nile. The indefatigable young woman had indeed caught the travel bug and carried it with her throughout her life.

In August of 1962, she married Keith Lynn Bryant, Jr., at the Methodist Student Chapel in Norman, Oklahoma. They moved to Columbia, Missouri, where Margaret taught for three years in the Columbia Public Schools while Keith received a doctorate from the University of Missouri. When Keith joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, the couple moved once more.

After teaching for a year, Margaret began a career as a mother and homemaker, raising children Jennifer and Craig. Never one to rest, she also became a dressmaker for Ambra’s Studio, taught Gourmet Cooking for the Milwaukee Area Technical College, was a substitute teacher, and hosted many dinners for university and community friends.

In 1976, when Keith accepted a position at Texas A&M University, they moved to Bryan/College Station. Once the children were settled into school, Margaret joined the faculty at South Knoll Elementary School in College Station, where she was recognized as a Master Teacher. Along with her family and professional commitments, she continued to embrace her role as a tireless hostess and community activist. She was a member of the group that created the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra and served on its first Board of Directors. At First Presbyterian church, she helped lead an effort to create the church’s daycare center.

Always concerned about all young children, but particularly those with budding academic talents, she pursued a graduate degree at Texas A&M, earning a Masters Degree in Elementary Education, focusing on underserved students. For several summers, she taught in a program for gifted and talented students. She also participated in, then became a staff member, at a Summer Institute for Gifted Student Teaching at the University of Connecticut.

Margaret and Keith moved to Akron, Ohio, in 1988, when Keith took a position at the University of Akron. Margaret taught in the Akron Public School system for a year, then joined the faculty at Old Trail School, a private institution. She continued to innovate in her teaching and received the school’s Jim Henson Award. An active member of the National Association for Gifted Children, she served as Vice President of the Elementary School Division, and gave presentations at national, state, and regional meetings. She began publishing her research in journals such as Gifted Child Today and Roeper Review, among others. Together with two colleagues, she authored a three-book series, Learning About Fall / Winter / Spring with Children’s Literature, as an introduction not just to books, but classical music, art, and even mini-lessons in French, all designed for early primary education. She also entered the doctoral program in Education at the University of Akron, and taught graduate courses at Kent State University on teaching methods in elementary schools.

In 2000, Margaret and Keith took early retirement and returned to Bryan/College Station. There, Margaret became an activist in organizations promoting the welfare of children. At Voices for Children, the Bryan/College Station chapter of Court Appointed Special Advocates, she served as an officer, board member, and fundraiser, receiving the President’s Award for Distinguished Service. As a fundraiser, member of the Board, and member of the Foundation Board of the Prenatal Clinic, she was given the Clinic’s “You’re the Tops!” award. Margaret represented the City of Bryan on a joint committee with College Station that allocated funds to local charities. She also helped to create and raise funds for Unlimited Potential, an organization to aid teenagers leaving foster care. In recognition of her contributions, the Girl Scouts of Central Texas honored her as a “Woman of Distinction.”

Margaret’s love of travel led to trips to Europe with Keith and their children in the 1970s and 80s, including cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean and Baltic seas, and a farm tour of England, Scotland, and Wales, followed by a week in London. Between these journeys were trips to Hawaii and New Mexico, including much loved Christmases spent in Santa Fe. Beginning in the late 1980s, Margaret and Keith’s travels took them on lengthier cruises throughout the Mediterranean and Baltic seas, a circumnavigation of South America, multiple Atlantic crossings, and two Panama Canal transitions, but their favorite was five weeks across the South Pacific. Land tours in Ireland, Spain, Austria, and Hungary were mixed with eleven visits to Hawaii and their beloved island of Molokai. Summers in Colorado and New Mexico were alternated with trips to Napa/Sonoma and Seattle. Life together was truly a journey of over sixty years.

Margaret is survived by her husband, Keith, daughter Jennifer Bryant of Houston and grandson James K. Bryant of College Station, her son Craig W. Bryant and his wife Hiba Mikdashi and grandson Kian M. Bryant of Snoqualmie, Washington. Also surviving her are her sister-in-law Judy Burns of Oklahoma City, and numerous beloved nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents and siblings William Burum, Lillian Burum Smith, and Patricia Burum Benton.

Margaret will be deeply missed by her family, friends, and hundreds of her former students who remember First Grade in Mrs. Bryant’s Class.

At her request, there will be no memorial service, but her family will be honoring her life and legacy by spreading her ashes at one of her favorite travel destinations.