Evelyn G. Bryson

(nee Michalek) Born to Eternal Life on Thursday, January 21, 2021 at the age of 92. She was born on November 30, 1928 in Milwaukee, WI to parents Andrew and Anna (nee Bartos) Michalek. She was the dear sister of Bertha (Edward) Klein.  She was called “Ebel” by a beloved child neighbor who couldn’t pronounce Evelyn, and that nickname stuck and followed her through generations of family.

She married her husband, the late Robert, in 1952 and was married for 68 wonderful, loving and fulfilling years. She was the proud mother of Robert W. Bryson and Dr. Julie Bryson. Evelyn deeply loved, cherished and supported her family, and dedicated her life to them. In addition to her family, she will be missed by her many nieces, nephews, other relatives, and dear friends.

Evelyn was proud of her Slovak heritage, and many cherished Slovak traditions helped to make family holidays and celebrations extra special.  The ethnic foods and other treats that she prepared were a part of family dinners and gatherings and always enjoyed by everyone.  She loved to bake, and those treats were also enjoyed by everyone, particularly an incredible cheese torte that was made with love and caring.  She always made sure that her family had their favorite cake to celebrate their birthdays.  And she would always make sure that family and friends were well fed during their visits before being able to leave.

Evelyn learned how to cross-country ski when she was in her fifties, and it wasn’t unusual to find her on the ski trails at Curry Park with her sister Bertha during their winter free time.  She was always looking for a good card game, including any game ranging from Liverpool rummy, to pinochle, 500, a good sheepshead game, cribbage, canasta and anything else played with a deck of cards.  She also enjoyed playing Mahjong, dominos, any Board game, and fixing jigsaw puzzles.  Later on, she loved to play bingo at the Potawatomi Casino.  She was always lucky at these games, and always the one to beat when she played.  Ma was an incredible fan of “Harry Potter”, reading all the books of that series, and had a video collection of all of the Harry Potter Movies which she could watch over and over again, whether on videos or during movie marathons on television.  Westerns were always favorite movies, and it wasn’t unusual to find her watching them into the wee hours of the morning on cable.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 27, 2021, at St. Bernadette Catholic Church, 8200 West Denver Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 11:00 AM until the time of Mass of Christian Burial at Noon.  Private entombment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to either St. Bernadette Parish or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital would be appreciated.