WESTBROOK – Phil Bryant said he only needed one word to describe his wife: love.

That thought occurred to him during the Celebration of Life held in Susan Bryant’s honor on Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Westbrook American Legion on Dunn Street. The event was originally scheduled to help the family raise money for Susan Bryant’s cancer treatments, but she died the day before the event, at the age of 56. She was battling breast and liver cancer.

“I miss her so much. She was the most loving, giving person I’ve ever known. Everybody loved her,” her husband said Tuesday.

Bryant said he is still carrying a scarf of hers with him because it smells like her.

“I still see her face,” he said.

More than 100 people showed up to the Celebration of Life event, organized by Susan Bryant’s five children and stepchildren, Lisa Donahue, Kelly McDougall, Josh Robins, Tara Bryant and Wade Bryant.

“Everyone there shared their favorite thing about her. It was amazing,” said Donahue.

Donahue’s daughter, Jenny, 6, also shared something about her beloved “Amie,” short for Grammy.

“She asked her mother if she could say something and Lisa said sure she could. She walked up to the mic. She was so timid, and she said she missed her best friend, her Amie. That’s about all she could get out,” Phil Bryant said describing the outpouring of love on Saturday night.

Donahue said her mother was looking forward to the event and had even bought a new dress for the occasion. But before the end of the day Friday, she died at home in her own bed, with her husband by her side. She was surrounded by hundreds angel figurines she collected over the years.

“She’d been sleeping in the living room to be around people. Friday was the first day she climbed into her bed. My stepdad was laying with her. She woke up and looked at him and just took her last breath,” Donahue said.

The more than $3,000 raised during the Celebration of Life event will now go toward funeral expenses. Phil Bryant said the Susan Bryant Fund at TD Bank in Westbrook is still open for donations.

He said he will soon start a new foundation in his wife’s name called the Susan Marie Sukeforth Robbins Bryant Fund to help other people who go through devastating events and have no where to turn.

The funeral will be held on Friday, Feb. 8, at Blais & Hay Funeral Home in Westbrook. Visiting hours are from 5-7 p.m.

Susan Bryant