On October 22, 2026, Albert passed peacefully at home, surrounded by his family.

Albert was born January 22, 1934, in Madison to Albert Waite Bryan MD of Forest City, Iowa, and Mollie Maxine Rahr Bryan of Manitowoc, WI. He attended Lincoln, Leopold, Crestwood, Randall, West Junior High, and Lake Forest Academy (Illinois), before graduating from Madison West High in 1951. At West, he participated in varsity football and track and field – his team picture still stands today in West’s auditorium hallway. Albert attended UW-Madison, where he majored in Russian language and toured nationally with the Haresfoot Club musical theatre. He earned his medical degree from McGill University (Montreal) and opened a practice in Madison in 1965 with his father, who had been a neurologist at the Jackson Clinic.

In the 1970s, Albert completed a residency at the University of Rochester, NY, and a fellowship at the UW before opening his solo practice in pulmonary medicine in Madison, admitting patients to all four local hospitals. He was the first pulmonologist in the region to use a fiberoptic bronchoscope, famously demonstrating its ease of use by intubating himself to delight his fellow pulmonary colleagues. He resisted the institutional shift from private practice to HMOs and took pride in giving his patients more time than was reimbursed by insurers. After closing his practice in 1996, he moved to Moscow, Russia, where he practiced for another 15 years (American Medical Center and more) before returning to Wisconsin in 2012 and practicing addiction medicine.

Albert served as a flight surgeon in the US Army (Colonel) and Wisconsin National Guard with deployments in Germany during the Vietnam War and multiple tours to the Middle East during the Gulf and Iraq Wars. He was particularly proud of his work with the Wisconsin National Guard’s 13th Evacuation Hospital, maintaining personal connections through the 13th Evac veterans’ group. His interactions with local patients and medical personnel in the Middle East impressed upon him the value of US field hospitals for providing civilian relief. He actively lobbied US command to expand foreign humanitarian assistance operations.

Albert also nurtured an interest in foreign languages and international affairs. As a young man, he studied French, German, and Russian, later adding Pashto and Dari to better communicate while stationed in the Middle East. Long after college, he continued to enroll in UW courses, exhausting every secret parking spot on campus in order to attend lectures on Russian history and literature. He served as unofficial ambassador to countless international students and professors, ferrying them to Ella's Deli and House on the Rock to share his enthusiasm for Wisconsin eccentricity. He also reveled in giving visitors airplane rides and handing them the controls without warning.

Albert cared deeply about public education, maintaining Madison’s small neighborhood schools, and the community of Madison as a whole. His vision of public education where each child feels supported, connected to their immediate community, and inspired to follow big dreams spurred him to run multiple campaigns for Madison School Board. He was a devoted member of the Madison Downtown Rotary for 41 years, particularly championing their international programs. In the 1980s he studied acting and voice and performed in Madison Savoyards operas. For decades he was an audience regular at Madison Jazz Society events and the Dixieland Jazz series (East Side Holiday Inn).

Friends fondly remember the 1930 Packard that 17-year-old Al bought for $65 and drove to school as often as he and his buddies could get it to start. It took 60 years, but he did finally restore this capricious gem to a thing of beauty that he shared in car shows and with anyone who was game for a ride. He was an active member of the Wisconsin Capital Model T Club.

Albert’s family and friends remember his laugh, hugs, stories, back scratches, blaze orange knit beanie, mountains of newspaper clippings, passion for Madison’s history, glasses of milk, and daily burned toast. Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Grandpa. He was preceded in death by sister Mollie Bryan Roberts. He is survived by beloved wife Helen; children Hilary (Ken Strasma), Karl (wife Cyndi), Josh, and Mollie; grandchildren Kristin, Anna-Maria, Hans, and Albert “Zeddie”; former spouse Karen Zethmayr; and adopted family, the Hawleys, the Zethmayrs, the Cusics, the Gates, the Vandalls, the Asmangulyans, and many more.

A funeral service will be held at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (1833 Regent Street) on Thursday, November 5, followed by a reception in the parish hall. Visitation 12:30pm; service 2pm.

In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials in Albert’s name to international student exchange programs of the Rotary Club of Madison (rotarymadison.org/) or to Jeeps for Peace (j4p.org), which provides emergency medical aid in Ukraine.

The family wishes to thank Dr. M. Goldrosen, Comfort Keepers, Interim Hospice Care, UW Cardiology, UW Geriatrics, and the VA hospital for their compassionate care and love for Al.