89, of Honolulu HI, died peacefully in her home on December 26th, 2017. She was born November 19th, 1928, in Long Beach, California, but returned to Honolulu with her Kama'aina parents before the age of one. Leilani graduated from Roosevelt High School, Honolulu, in 1946, and from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, in 1950. While attending U.H. she stayed in the Manoa home of her mother Benita Clarke (U.H. class of 1924) and grandparents, Colonel Adna G. Clarke (U.H., class of 1925) and the poet Jane Comstock (U.H. class of 1932). Leilani's father, Edwin H. Bryan (U.H. class of 1924), was curator of the B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, from 1919 to 1985 and wrote many articles and books specific to the natural history and astronomy in Hawai'i. Leilani also worked as a botanist, archivist, and ethnographer for the Bishop Museum from the 1970s through the 1990s. She had encyclopedic knowledge of Hawaiian geography, culture, plants, and natural history. She was an active member of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club beginning in the 1940s, and was a popular original resident of One Kalakaua Senior Living Retirement Community in Honolulu. Leilani was survived by sons Peter (Rowena) Pyle of California and Richard (Lisa) Pyle (U.H. class of 1992) of Kaneohe. She was preceded in death by husband Robert Lawrence Pyle of Honolulu, son Robert Lewis Pyle of Colorado, and daughter Ellen Manulani Pyle of Honolulu. Services will be held at the Atherton Chapel, Central Union Church, 1660 South Beretania St., Honolulu, on February 10th, 2018, at 10 a.m., reception to follow.
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased
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