Bryant Page Barnes

Apart from his many professional and athletic achievements, Bryant Page Barnes was known for his kindness, generosity, and vast knowledge on a variety of subjects, especially history. Bryant, age 81, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019 surrounded by his family.

Bryant was born in Kansas City to Pete and Peggy Barnes on May 10, 1938. His happy childhood included playing many sports – golf, baseball, and basketball. Baseball was Bryant's favorite sport until seventh grade when Bryant Elementary School started a basketball team, and Bryant discovered he was not too bad. When he entered Pembroke Country Day School, Bryant played basketball under Hall of Fame Coach Eddie Ryan. After a winning record during Bryant's freshman year (13-2), Coach Ryan led the team to records of 14-9 Bryant's sophomore year, 30-3 his junior year, and 31-0 his senior year. Bryant was captain of the team his senior year, All-State First Team his junior and senior year, as well as State Champion. He averaged 20 points a game his junior and senior year, scoring 46 points in the regional final and 30 points in the state finals his senior year.

Recruited by Missouri, K- State, St Louis University and Kentucky, Bryant chose to attend Dartmouth College, which his father and brother, Peter Barnes, had attended. He majored in history and joined his brother as a Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) and was a member of The Casque & Gauntlet honor society. He was captain of the freshman basketball team at Dartmouth and member of two Ivy League Championship teams in 1958 and 1959 when his team missed the Final Four by one game. He had the privilege of being teammates with Rudy LaRusso. Bryant also played against some greats: Satch Sanders, Chet Walker, and Jerry West.

After graduating from Dartmouth, Bryant returned to Kansas City to join his father at H. O. Peet & Company. In 1966, he co-founded FCI Advisors along with Graham Hunt and Bob Gunn. FCI became the first registered investment advisory owned by a NYSE brokerage and has developed into a nationally recognized investment firm. Bryant was Vice Chairman and has been there every step of the way for 53 years, providing leadership, professionalism, and wisdom. FCI, its clients and associates were an immense source of pride for Bryant. In his characteristically humble and understated way, Bryant served as a trusted advisor for clients, some for over 50 years, an uncommon accomplishment in the investment management profession. He shaped FCI culture by reminding his colleagues that creating peace of mind for clients was the firm's primary mission. Bryant continued to work at FCI, never retiring, enjoying every day. He often said how grateful he was to still be working at FCI with wonderful people.

Bryant met his wife, Mary Jane, at a fraternity meeting in Chicago. They were married October 7, 1961, and created a wonderful life together in Kansas City, a city he dearly loved. Although Bryant had started to play golf at age ten, he credits Mary Jane for a lot of his success, as he became a better golfer when they started to play together. Bryant was six-time Club Champion at the Kansas City Country Club, (He and Mary Jane were both Club Champions in 1980) a semifinalist in the Kansas Amateur, a quarterfinalist in the Missouri Amateur, and finished second in the Trans Mississippi Senior Division. He also was the Birchmont International Senior Division and Super Seniors Division Champion. However, Bryant was proudest of the fact that he qualified and played in the 1978 U.S. Amateur Championship, the 1997 USGA Senior Amateur Championship, and the 1990 U.S. Senior Open Championship, where his name was on the leader board. He was the first one off the tee, birdied the first hole; however, it was downhill from there. All three qualifying rounds were at Indian Hills Country Club, which he called his lucky golf course.

Bryant was on the board of trustees of the Sunset Hill School, Ottawa University, and the Visiting Nurses Association of Kansas City. He served on the Dartmouth Alumni Council and was past president of the Kansas City Society of Financial Analysts, past president of the Kansas City Golf Association, and past president of the Kansas City Country Club. He also belonged to The Bemidji Town & Country Club, Ocean Reef Club, the Mercury Club and was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church.

Along this journey with Bryant has been his wife of fifty-eight years, Mary Jane, the head of their household and a leader herself. Family was all-important to Bryant. He loved to watch his grandchildren play sports, discuss their careers, and to spend summers with family and friends in Bemidji, Minnesota, where he has been going for eighty years.

Bryant kept his sense of humor during his illness, and he and his family are grateful to doctors, nurses, and caregivers at the University of Kansas Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and St. Luke's Hospice House.

Bryant is preceded in death by his parents, Frederic Page Barnes and Margaret Louise Ott Barnes, and brother Peter Crain Barnes who passed away in 2003. He leaves two daughters: Debbie Ward (Tom) and Holly Milledge (Forest) and five grandchildren: Catherine Ward Carothers (Brent), Elizabeth Dovey Ward, Mark Barnes Ward, Droste DeForest Milledge, III and Peter Bryant Milledge, niece Page Barnes and nephew Tyler Barnes.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions to The Pembroke Hill School, Athletic Department mailed to: Pembroke Hill Athletic Department, in care of The Pembroke Hill School, 400 W. 51st Street, Kansas City, MO, 64112. Or The University of Kansas Cancer Center, payable to The University of Kansas Health System and mailed to: Fund Development, 2330 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 305, Westwood, KS 66205, or online at www.kansasheathsystem.com/giving.

A celebration of life will be held on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019 at 3:30 pm at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 6401 Wornall Terrace, Kansas City, Missouri.

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