Elva "Jean" Bryson, age 90, of Springfield, Missouri, passed away on January 17, 2021.  She lived at the Waterford at Ironbridge for the last 4 years of her life where she made many friends and received excellent treatment and care.

Jean was born in Glenwood, Arkansas on February 7, 1930 and she later graduated from Glenwood High School.  She was a homemaker for 12 years when her 2 daughters, Brenda and Debbie, were young. She later worked in several positions including the Timex factory, a bakery, and a drapery shop.  Until her death, she believed that a house was not complete without formal drapes.  She did not always have an easy life--born during the Great Depression, spending her adolescence during WWII, and losing a beloved granddaughter to an early death--but her resiliency was always inspiring.

The true joy of her life was her two daughters.  During her last decades of life, she was able to live near each daughter and spend significant time with them.  Her daughters remember how she sewed all their clothes by hand when they were children, and how she always managed to stretch a dollar farther than seemed possible.  Jean was a great cook and loved good food.  She was renowned in her own home for her peanut butter fudge, and she achieved local fame as a Pike County Fair blue-ribbon winner for her peanut butter cookies.  She had many beloved pets over the years, and she had a special fondness for pugs and cats.  For her 80 ^th birthday, she went on her first cruise to Mexico with family, creating memories she cherished for years.

Although she was an only-child, she reveled in having a very large family by the end of her life including her two daughters, six grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. She had a large celebration on her 90 ^th birthday and her family members presented her with a list of 90 beloved things about her.  Common themes on the list included her fierce hugs, her beautiful youthful skin, her love of thrift stores and yard sales, her kindness, and her love for Elvis.  At the Waterford, she was well-known for her African violets.  She had a lifelong love of gardening and always had plants/flowers everywhere she lived.  Even at 90 years of age, she dressed daily in stylish/colorful clothing with jewelry and made her bed each morning.

She was preceded in death by her mother (Opal Spradlin), her father (Hardy Spradlin), and her granddaughter (Tara Leslie Kortenber).  She is survived by her daughter Brenda Owens Leslie (Rev. Bill Leslie, deceased) in Springfield, MO, daughter Debbie Owens Clifton (Bill Clifton) in House Springs, MO, granddaughter Dr. Brooke Leslie Whisenhunt (Blaine Whisenhunt) in Springfield, MO, granddaughter Amber Horton (Rick Horton) in Eureka, MO, grandson Commander Kyle P. Leslie, USN (Misty Leslie) in Chesapeake, VA, grandson Brandon Potter in Jonesboro, AR, and granddaughter Lisa Conover (Jason Conover) in Springfield, MO.  She had 16 great-grandchildren who loved their "Granny" greatly.

A memorial service will be held at a later date in Glenwood, Arkansas. The family would like to extend their extreme gratitude to the Waterford staff, Phoenix Home Care staff, and the staff at Mercy Hospital for their kind and compassionate care.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to the Humane Society of the United States or the Glenwood United Methodist Church.