Joseph McKinley Bryan, Sr. could be intransigent one moment and disarmingly endearing the next. But he was a man with a vision that never faded until a failing body stilled his alert mind just short of his 100th birthday in 1995.

Bryan overcame poverty, a mother's mental illness, a father's desertion, a distrusting set of in-laws and a lack of formal education to become a builder of people as well as institutions. His good works, and those of his family, are widespread.

He was instrumental in the creation of both commercial and public television in North Carolina and helped build universities and medical facilities. At one time, Bryan was the largest single donor to Duke University, except for the Dukes. Bryan family resources led to creation of the Alzheimer's research facility at Duke, as well as a student center and major advancements for the Duke Eye Center. But when Duke didn't fulfill some promises, he withdrew an additional $15 million he intended to give.

For all his attributes, successes and good works, however, Bryan couldn't succeed within his own family, a failure he was never able to overcome and one that privately tormented him. Ned Cline interviewed scores of people, including family, friends, associates, and acquaintances to tell the story of this complex and fascinating man.

About the Author

Ned Cline, an award-winning reporter and editor, has chronicled the lives of North Carolina public officials and public figures for 30 years as a journalist. He has been a reporter for the Salisbury Post, the Charlotte Observer, and the Greensboro Daily News, and was managing editor and associate editor of the News and Record in Greensboro, NC. A political science graduate of Catawba College, he was awarded a journalism fellowship for a year of graduate studies at Harvard University.
He and his wife, Linda, live in Greensboro, NC, and have two grown children.

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