Robert “Bob” O’Bryan joined the other saints in heaven on September 9, 2024
after a month-long illness. He was 85 years old and had led a very full and
interesting life.
Bob spent his childhood in Kansas and Texas. He attended high school at Subiaco
Academy in Arkansas along with his brother. There he and his brother joined the
monastery. While at Subiaco Bob felt the call to God’s service and took the
religious name, Kilian. Eventually, Bob came to realize that God’s call to service
did not mean the priesthood for him. He went back to school and earned a
Master’s Degree in Education. During those college years he spent three summers
working for NASA on the east coast, one of the highpoints of his life.
After school Bob moved to Oklahoma and began teaching high school math. He
was elected the President of the Association of Classroom Teachers in 1974, and
this position led to a whole new stage of life when he met his future wife.
Bob and Sue married in May, 1975 and adopted three sons over the next five
years. During that time they acquired some rental property, and Bob became a
proficient handy-man and painter. After the boys were grown, Bob bought a pawn
shop in Yukon, OK where he occasionally used his financial acumen to try to teach
people about responsible money management. In spite of his position as
pawnbroker, Bob believed that pawning was not an efficient use of one’s money.
As a “cradle Catholic”, Bob was a regular participant at his church throughout his
life. After he retired from the pawn shop he became even more involved with
activities there. In 2017, Bob and Sue moved to Baptist Village OKC, where they
found a home and community beyond their expectations. Bob discovered his
greatest fulfillment from serving the other residents there, and his greatest
notoriety when he was discovered doing volunteer landscaping work from a
scooter on campus.
https://kfor.com/news/pay-it-4ward/landscaper-keeps-rolling-to-pay-it-4ward/
Bob is survived by his brother, Ephrem, his wife, Sue, and his three sons, Sean,
Tim and David who he loved very much. He also has two wonderful daughters-in-
law, Jackie and Meghann, as well as eight grandchildren and three great
grandchildren. He was much loved as a grandpa and will be missed by many who
knew him and his commitment to serving God.
A funeral mass will be held for Bob at Epiphany Catholic Church on Britton at
10:30 AM on Monday, Sept. 16, and an additional Memorial Celebration is
scheduled for Tuesday at 2:00 PM at Baptist Village (9700 Mashburn) in the Life
Enrichment Room.
Bob requested that no flowers be purchased for his funeral. Any gifts should be
directed to the Employees Assistance Fund or the Adams Fund at Baptist Village.
