ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Howard Bryan, an Ohio-born writer who moved to New Mexico to become one of the state's most well-known journalists and the author of a number of books about his adopted state, died Saturday, publisher and friend Marcia Keegan said. He was 91.
Keehan said Bryan died in his Albuquerque home from a cancerous tumor in his nose.
Long-time friend and former Albuquerque Tribune colleague Ollie Reed said Bryan was diagnosed with cancer in May but refused to stop reading or sharing his writings about the American Southwest with visitors.
"He was always very generous and very helpful," Reed said. "Even up to the end."
Bryan was known throughout Southwest writing and journalism circles as a mentor and avid fan of the American Southwest. He worked for the Albuquerque Tribune from 1948 until his retirement in 1985. After leaving, Bryan continued to contribute a weekly "Off the Beaten Path" column about New Mexico's wild and colorful history.
Reed said Bryan was able to find forgotten figures first while covering the federal beat for the Tribune because he often chatted up forest and park officials — some who were former lawmen and characters in the Old West days.
Born in Delaware, Ohio, in 1920, Howard Thornton Bryan Jr. was the son of an electrical repair shop owner and a pianist. Bryan often told friends he got his passion for history from his father, who wrote a history column titled "Know Your Ohio" for the Delaware Gazette. A couple of times, the younger Bryan substituted a column for his dad.
He attended Ohio State University for a couple of years but was kicked out because of grades. Bryan told friends the school had a wonderful history library and he spent most his time in inside reading about the frontier days.
After returning from the army in World War II, Bryan began his journalism career as a police reporter for the Cleveland Press. But a vacation trip to New Mexico in 1948 changed everything, according to friends.
Reed said it was during that trip that Bryan became fascinated with the American Southwest and walked into the Tribune's offices asking if they needed any reporters.
"He started the next day," Reed said. "He told the Cleveland paper he'd be back to pick up his stuff when he could."
At the Tribune, Bryan covered the federal court, police, the state fair and eventually started his column.
Keegan, co-owner of Clear Light Publishing and publisher of five of Bryan's books, said she met Bryan when she was worked at the Tribune as a sophomore in college.
"He was very generous with his time. He was not judgmental," Keegan said. "We all learned a lot from him."
Among Bryan's books are "Incredible Elfego Baca: Good Man, Bad Man of the Old West" and "Robbers, Rogues and Ruffians: True Tales of the Wild West."
He is survived by two brothers and a number of nieces and nephews.
Funeral services are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. A memorial is also planned Sept. 24 at the Albuquerque Press Club.