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Was born on February 23, 1939, in Oakland, CA, to Merlin M. Bryan and Ruby Best Bryan and passed away from congestive heart failure at Kahala Nui Retirement Community in Honolulu on February 8, 2021. Jon went to Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville, CA, as a boarding student when he was eight years old following the death of his mother from cancer and his father's remarriage. Located on a farm, he learned his life-long love of animals and plants there. His grandfather, Jasper Bryan, lived nearby and took Jon fishing on weekends. His family moved from California to Hawaii when his father was transferred by Hawaiian Dredging and Construction Company and Jon attended Punahou School beginning in 7th grade. When his family lived in Waikiki he caught tropical fish and sold them to Grant Tinker, head of the Aquarium, for 25 cents each. He also collected bird feathers from the Zoo which he compiled and labeled in a scrapbook. As an adult living in Massachusetts his salt water aquarium with tropical fish provided memories of home. His father worked overseas and Jon spent his high school freshman year at the American School in Meguro, Japan, and his last three years as a boarding student at Punahou. He was in ROTC, a diver on the swimming team, and graduated in 1957. During summers he worked in the pineapple cannery and on Young Brothers tug boat. He attended Northwestern University on an NROTC scholarship majoring in Science Engineering and was elected to Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. A diver on the NU swimming team, he graduated in 1961 and was commissioned as a Naval Officer. At Northwestern he met Janice Westlund from Naperville, IL, and married a week after her graduation two years later. They moved to Hawaii the next day where he was stationed at Pearl Harbor Submarine Base. Prior, Jon was on the unique all-bachelor diesel submarine, USS Archerfish, because they spent most of their time at sea. After serving on the USS Tang diesel submarine he was selected for the nuclear power program and served on the USS Tecumseh and USS Daniel Boone polaris submarines also stationed at Pearl Harbor. Unhappy with family separations, Jon transferred into the Engineering Duty Officer program and spent three years at MIT earning a SM Degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, and a Professional Engineer's Degree in Ocean Engineering. A paper based on his thesis, published by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Materials Division, received best paper of the year award. After MIT he was stationed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, and next at the Naval Underwater Systems Center in Newport, RI. He was a registered Professional Mechanical Engineer in Maine. Following his retirement from the Navy he worked at American Institutes for Research and as a contractor on the Airborn Warning and Control System (AWACS), an air defense program for Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, MA. After living in Lexington, MA, for 32 years, he and his wife retired to Hawaii in 2002 where he studied Hawaiian history and language, learned to play the ukulele, and was a docent in Hawaiian Hall at Bishop Museum, the highlight of his week. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Janice, daughters Elizabeth Tiare (Tony) Martinez of Lafayette, CO, Rebecca Malia (Marc) Friend of Palo Alto, CA, and grandchildren David and A. J. Martinez and Jasper and Jordana Friend. He will be remembered most of all for his love, kindness, and sweet smile. His ashes will be interred in The National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. In lieu of flowers please donate to The Kahala Nui Associates' Scholarship Fund, 4389 Malia Street, Honolulu, 96821. Arrangements Provided By: Oahu Mortuary
