STRINGER

Bryan Franklin Stringer, 57, died Sept. 26, 2020, at his home in Smith County, Texas. A memorial service was held Sat., Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. at Rose Heights Church in Tyler, Texas with Ps. Allen Townsend officiating. Bryan was born Sept. 4, 1963 in Wichita Falls, Texas to Simon Franklin Stringer and Bobbie Lou Copeland Stringer. He served as a member of the Army National Guard for six years, spent several years in EMS and fire service in Wichita Falls and Burkburnett, Texas, and then began his law enforcement career as a reserve officer for Burkburnett Police Department, and then joined the Midwestern State University Police Department. While at MSU, he earned his bachelor’s degree and then became an enforcement agent for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in 2002. During his 18 years with TABC, he served in the Dallas, Mount Pleasant, and Tyler regional offices. He married his wife, Lynda Coultes Stringer Dec. 27, 1988 and they raised three wonderful children. His son and daughter-in-law made him a Papaw of two precious grandchildren, ages four and 18 months. God was the most important thing in Bryan’s life. He accepted Christ at a young age and when his daddy became a Southern Baptist preacher, he soaked up the words he heard from the pulpit at Hatton Road Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, Texas like a sponge. When a tragic accident took his dad’s life in 1994, Bryan lost his father, his best friend, his mentor and his pastor, but the lessons he taught him and the legacy he left behind guided Bryan into adulthood and made him wise beyond his years as he raised his own family. He developed a strong work ethic and a fierce loyalty early in life on his dad’s family farm in Mississippi where the Stringer roots run deep. Bryan instilled those values in each of his children. He grappled with the responsibility at first, but always heard his father’s voice in seasons of uncertainly, hardship, the joys of life’s big and small moments, and eventually the crushing grief of losing his oldest daughter, Mandy, just one year ago. The family drew closer to each other and to God over the past year to navigate this valley, celebrating this life on earth that marches on, reveling in the laughter of grandkids, cherishing her memory and rejoicing in the promise of seeing her again. Lean on God. Trust in his plan. That has always been the key for Bryan. He told Lynda during a recent scare at the emergency room, “Keep your chin up. Put one foot in front of the other.” His family could not have known those words would ring true just a few weeks later as they now try to make sense of God calling him home and having to move on without him. When Bryan called you friend, you became part of the family. Above all, he would want everyone who knew him to meet his Savior Jesus Christ, and to be reunited with them in Heaven one day, where there will be no tears.

Bryan was preceded in death by his father, Frank, and daughter, Mandy. he is survived by his wife Lynda, his son Matthew and wife Meghan Stringer of Mount Pleasant, Texas; daughter, Kristin Stringer of Plano Texas; grandchildren Emma and Benjamin Stringer of Mount Pleasant; his mother, Bobbie Lou, his brother, Jerry Stringer of Mississippi; sisters Terry Hale of Georgia and Barbara McKay and husband Gary of Dallas, Texas; and numerous nieces and nephews and cousins.