As most of you know by now, Bryce Nathan Risser passed away unexpectedly at his home in Sedona, Arizona, on December 8, 2016. The above Junior Class photo is a scan from the 1961 Sheyenne Yearbook. No funeral or memorial service was held soon after his death, however, I received an email from his classmate and my childhood friend, Paul Merrett, about a recent "Celebration of Life" Service in honor of Bryce. The report Paul sent to me is reproduced below. Thanks, Paul, for sending this and God bless the memory of a dear friend and fellow Hiliner, Bryce Risser:
FROM PAUL MERRETT:
"I made the trip from Las Cruces over to Sedona AZ last Tuesday (January 17, 2017) for the Celebration of Life service for Bryce Risser. It was a very nice tribute to our departed friend. It was attended by about 40 or 50 people including his son Nathan, daughter Laura and one of his sisters, JoAnn and her husband, and his ex LaRon. All of those individuals shared their memories of him and, afterword several others shared their thoughts and memories also, yours truly included.
"In addition their were musical numbers provided by people who had worked with Bryce in different capacities over the years there in Sedona. His brother-in-law, Viv (Yup, that's his name) sang the Lord's Prayer a capella in his operetically trained voice. That brought a few tears to the eyes.
"Overall the theme was very upbeat and not sad or melancholy. I think Bryce would have been quite pleased with the way things were conducted. As it was said by his former wife, LaRon, when she had asked him once how he wanted to be remembered, he replied, 'Often and always.' I'm quite convinced that that is how it will be. I was told by his son, Nate, that they are also planning on having another Celebration of Life service later in Valley City for those who could not attend this one. Please pass this along to whomever you feel might like to hear about it." - Thanks, Paul
And thank you, Paul, for thinking of us in the Hiliners61 group. Please continue to keep us posted.
To read Bryce's obituary from Valley City Times-Record, published not long after Bryce's death,
click here.
To read an article about Bryce and the NuBeats band and to hear an interview I did with Bryce in 2010 please click here. When you click on the interview link, the mp3 audio file may take a moment or two to load. - Larry Gauper, Hiliners61 Blogmeister
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