Kevin M. Bryan

Kevin was born in Leavenworth, KS on May 15th, 1957 to Jon and Sharon Bryan.

He is survived by his wife, Traci; his children, Ashley Neill (Bobby), Sarah Heiman (Matt), and Mike Wolowicz (Sami). He is also survived by his mother, Sharon; sisters, Teresa Bryan and Pam Swindler (Danny); mother & father-in-law, Micki and Larry Terrell; brother-in-law, Jay Terrell (Cara); sister-in-law, Christie Terrell; uncle and aunt, Ray and Judy Clements. He will be dearly missed by his 4 grandchildren; Braxton, Kinley, Scout, and Sloan who loved him to the moon and back. He also leaves behind several nieces, nephews, a multitude of other family members, and friends.

Kevin was preceded in death by his father, Jon Bryan and brother-in-law, Mike Terrell.

Kevin was a lifelong resident of Platte City and a 1975 graduate of Platte County High School where he was a 3-sport letterman in football, basketball and baseball. He was inducted into the Platte County Pirates Hall of Fame in 2019. After high school, he attended Northwest Missouri State University where he earned a BS in Physical Education and was a member of the Delta Chi Fraternity.

Following graduation, he spent the next several decades teaching and coaching. He coached football and baseball at West Platte High School in Weston, MO where he was an assistant coach on the 2001 Class 1A Football Championship team. He also led the 2003 Class 2 baseball team to a 4th place finish as the head coach.

He joined the staff of the East Buchanan football team in 2005 as an assistant coach. He became the head football coach in 2007 and led the Bulldogs until his retirement in 2020. During his tenure as the head coach, he led his teams to several conference and district championships, state quarterfinals in 2010 and 2014 and state semifinals in 2011 and 2017. He was the head baseball coach from 2005 to 2016.

Kevin led his teams with humor, tough love, and respect. Over Coach Bryan’s many years of coaching he impacted the lives of many young men who looked to him as a father figure, mentor, friend, sounding board and port in a storm. He always welcomed his boys and fellow coaches into his office and would dole out words of wisdom and jokes with reverence, good natured ribbing or sarcasm. A recurring theme throughout his coaching career was about how people faced adversity.

That message became a battle cry for many as they watched him fight cancer with a never give up attitude. He was tremendously moved by Stuart Scott’s 2014 Jimmy V Award acceptance speech. “When you die, it does not mean that you lost to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live. So live. Live! Fight like hell. And when you get too tired to fight, lay down and rest and let someone else fight for you.” In Kevin’s memory take up the fight and live life with purpose and to the fullest.

A Celebration of Life is scheduled for March 27, 2021 at 4pm in the Platte Purchase building at the Platte County Fairgrounds with a visitation beginning at 2:30pm. The service will also be live streamed on Facebook (White Chapel Funeral Home FB Page). Masks will be required.

If you were one of Coach Bryan's athletes, please wear your school colors.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to Fight Colorectal Cancer:

https://champions-of-hope.funraise.org/fundraiser/coach_bryan_memorial.