Scott Bryner, July 13, 1950 — January 30, 2019

Scott’s Obituary Scott Morris Bryner died on January 30th at Providence Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 68. Scott moved to Alaska in 1979 with his wife, Mary.

A longtime teacher in the Anchorage School District, he taught thousands of children and teenagers how to appreciate music and literature. Scott was a modern day Renaissance man, driven by his interests in music, piano, Scottish bagpipes, stamp and coin collecting, darkroom photography, genealogy and fly tying and fishing. An avid reader, Scott was most often found pouring over dusty novels and spending time with his family and friends.

Scott Morris Bryner was born on July 13th, 1950, in Seattle, Washington, the son of the late Robert and Alma Ruth Bryner. Scott graduated from Roosevelt High School and spent his free time playing in a bagpipe band and working for Shorey’s antiquarian bookstore. He attended Central Washington State College, receiving his B.A. in English in 1972.

He married Mary McKinnon in 1973. After backpacking through Europe, he returned to Washington and received a second B.A. in Music Education in 1979 from the University of Washington, which he funded by playing piano throughout Seattle in local lounges. He moved to Craig, Alaska in 1979 and to Anchorage in 1981.

He was the proud father of Sarah and Andrew Bryner, both born in Anchorage. He received his M.A. in Humanities from Alaska Pacific University, after completing a thesis about fishing ballads. He worked for the Anchorage School District for 24 years, first as an elementary school music teacher at Ocean View Elementary, then as the Band and Choir Director at West High School before finally culminating his career as a humanities teacher at West.

As a teacher, Scott was particularly interested in working with kids who considered themselves to be offbeat or otherwise uninterested in school – Scott always was willing to listen without judgement. He retired from ASD in 2005 and moved to Kenai, where he enjoyed retirement with his beloved dog Sophie before returning to Anchorage. Survivors include daughter Sarah Bryner (Austin Carson) of Chicago, Andrew Bryner (Kyung-Sun Eo) of New York City, ex-wife Mary McKinnon of Anchorage, and grandchildren Kai and Zoe Bryner-Carson.

Private services will be held in the summer. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation in his honor.

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