By Nicole Hamilton
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Harold "Hal" Bryant, a retired Xavier University economics professor, demonstrated his love of teaching in and out of the classroom.

Even when he was serving as the department chair - a time when a professor's workload is usually reduced - he continued to teach several undergraduate and graduate-level economics classes. And he was quick with educational advice for his friends.

His wife, Ann, said he took great pleasure in helping her co-worker get through graduate school.

Mr. Bryant died Tuesday at Primrose Place Health Center in Springfield, Mo., from brain cancer. The longtime Fort Thomas resident was 67.

"He was a super, genuinely nice person. Just a remarkable man," his wife said.

Born in Somerset, Ky., Mr. Bryant moved to Cincinnati as a young child.

He graduated from Hughes High School in 1954, and then joined the U.S. Air Force, where he did intelligence work in North Africa and Turkey.

About four years later, after being honorably discharged, Mr. Bryant enrolled at the University of Cincinnati. He earned a bachelor's degree in geology from the school in 1962, a master's in economics in 1963, a master's in community planning in 1965 and a Ph.D. in economics in 1967.

In 1968, Mr. Bryant began teaching economics at Xavier University.

He chaired the department on three different occasions, and taught executive MBA classes.

He was also a member of the Honor Society of Economics, and was awarded the Presidential Citation for his work at the university.

For about 10 years, Mr. Bryant co-owned the Window Garden restaurants, opening the first in Westwood and one later in Hyde Park.

He sold his share of the business in the 1980s and became a consultant in forensic economics.

A longtime dream of Mr. Bryant was to live on a farm and raise cattle. In 1990, he and his wife moved to a home they built on Northern Kentucky farmland, where they kept Angus cattle.

Mr. Bryant retired from Xavier University about 1998.

That year, he and his family moved to Niangua, Mo., to raise purebred Tarentaise cattle in the countryside.

Besides his wife, he is survived by his father, Lester Bryant of Carthage; two daughters, Tina Vargas of Loveland and Donna Bryant of Springfield, Mo.; a stepdaughter, Michele Bunzel of Wilder; a stepson, Michael Bunzel of Southgate; a brother, James Bryant of Wyoming; a sister, Kaye Hickman of Springfield Township; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service will be 3 p.m. Nov. 26 at Bellarmine Chapel on the Xavier University campus in Walnut Hills.

Memorials: Dr. Harold L. Bryant Endowed Scholarship Fund, Xavier University, 3800 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45207.

E-mail nhamilton@enquirer.com

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