Bryan Louis Spinks

Bryan Louis Spinks, son, brother and friend, went to rest on May 23, 2024.  Born to Robert Louis and Pamela Heyland Spinks, on February 12, 1980, in Stillwater, OK, Bryan marched to the beat of his own drum.  He was a talented musician, an animal lover and a supportive friend to all.  

As a child, Bryan would not leave the house without his cowboy boots.  He loved He-Man, Star Wars, ninjas and his stuffed dogs, Big Doggy and Alex.  He and his sister Sarah were lucky to have four doting grandparents who were always ready to entertain.  Blackberries fresh from the farm in McAlester, trips to East Texas to visit extended family and unlimited soft serve ice cream at the Tulsa Drillers games were fond childhood memories.  He also spent much of his childhood searching for a chocolate milk spill that never really happened. 

As a member of Boy Scout Troop 138 in Oklahoma City, Bryan was a Life Scout, an excellent teacher of younger Scouts, and it gave his Dad much joy when they spent two separate weeks of camp together at Slippery Falls Scout Ranch.  He attended one National Scout Jamboree, make sure you ask Pam about his hat.  

In his early teens, Bryan picked up a guitar and soon after, he was very rarely seen with still fingers. With the support of his music loving parents, and a ride from his mom, Bryan took lessons from the multi-talented Speedy West, Jr. at Granny’s Music Mall every Sunday. Bryan made his music debut in an elementary school talent show covering a Nirvana song.   

Bryan was a proud graduate of Project Hope and the University of Oklahoma.  After college, Bryan followed music to Kansas and eventually Seattle, where he was the lead guitar for Doom Metal Giant Samothrace. It was with Samothrace that Bryan saw the world, traveling on tour across the US and Europe, even performing at Roadburn Festival, dubbed a leading light in the world of heavy music. He and his family were particularly proud that Decibel Magazine twice acknowledged his playing and incredible talent.

Bryan eventually felt homesick and returned to Oklahoma, where he settled down and worked at Guestroom Records.  His love of music connected him to many.  He loved opening the store on weekends and seeing his “regulars”.  Many thanks to the Guestroom Family for their love and support of Bryan over the years.  

Greeting Bryan in Heaven were his grandparents Oscar and Dorothy Spinks, Bill and Pat Heyland, beloved great aunt Maggie Dickey, other family members and many friends lost too soon.  Missing Bryan on Earth are his parents, Bob and Pam, sister and brother-in-law Sarah and Will Richter, lifelong friends Philip Banta, Matt Schneider and Scott Taylor, and an assortment of extended family and friends worldwide. 

In honor of Bryan, his family asks that you cheer someone up, help someone through a tough time and generally pay forward his care for others.  Spin your favorite vinyl and listen for the guitar; riffs were Bryan’s love language.

If you wish to remember him in a more permanent way, the family will be funding a scholarship for Guitar Performance students at Oklahoma City University.  Donations can be made to the Bryan Spinks Endowed Scholarship or the Bryan Spinks Student Excellence in HOPE Scholarship in care of the Francis Tuttle Foundation.