A Service of Worship will be held at 11am Wednesday, December 28, 2016, at Apex United Methodist Church, 100 South Hughes Street, in Apex, NC. Pastor Tim Catlett and Mr. Byrd’s grandson Daniel Northrup will conduct the service. The family will receive visitors at the church immediately following the ceremony.
Mr. Byrd was born on March 12, 1933, in Randolph County, NC, in a small town named Farmer. He is the son of the late Elmer Ernest and Artemicia Elizabeth Bingham Byrd. He grew up in a small Friends community that was strong in their faith and work ethic. He assisted his parents and brothers in farming and agricultural work. He graduated from Coleridge High School in 1954. Mr. Byrd then attended college at North Carolina State University, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 1958. On March 22, 1959, he married his wife of 57 years, Julia Ann Hagwood of Apex, NC. He started his engineering career with Richard Moore and Associates in Raleigh, NC, and later accepted a position at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC, as a professor in the Engineering Department. In 1979, after many years of service as an educator, he accepted a position in with the State of North Carolina Department of Administration as a civil engineer in Raleigh, where he would finish his career.
During his tenure with state government, Mr. Byrd achieved many prestigious accomplishments. He received his Masters of Civil Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1986. Mr. Byrd did extensive work with the North Carolina Forestry Department, and a bridge to the Forestry Training Facility was named “Harmon Byrd Bridge.” He was appointed in 1987 to the State Building Code Council, where he served for three terms. He was then appointed to the Southern Building Code Council on the Wind Load Committee in 1994. During his last year of service to the State of North Carolina, Mr. Byrd received the Frank B. Turner Award for making an outstanding professional contribution to the “Built Environment” of North Carolina as a professional engineer. Lastly, on July 1, 1999, upon retirement with 26 years of service to the State of North Carolina, Mr. Byrd received the highest award given, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
In addition to his parents, James Harmon Byrd is preceded in death by his siblings Hartwell Lee Byrd, Grayson Byrd, Sarah Boone, and Helen Beane.
James Harmon Byrd is survived by his wife, Julia Ann Hagwood Byrd, and by his daughters and their spouses: Dave and Leesa Northrup, Suzanne and Larry Coats, Wendy and Bill Stephens, and Nicole Miller and Alex White. He is also survived by his beloved grandchildren and great grandchildren, all who adored their Papa: His grandchildren David Northrup, Jimmy Northrup, Kelly Northrup, Daniel Northrup, Meghan Doligalski, Courtney Guadagno, Bethany Coats, Hunter Stephens, Connor Stephens, Carson Miller, Chad Miller, Skylar Miller, and Levi Miller, and the spouses of above; his step-grandchildren Cameron White, Katie White, and Charlie White; and his great-grandchildren Trig Northrup, Mace Northrup, Coleman Northrup, Rhodes Northrup, Owen Doligalski, Rhett Guadagno, and the soon-to-be-born baby girl Northrup.
James Harmon Byrd was an avid Wolfpack fan and deeply loved his profession. In lieu of flowers, we would ask that memorial contributions be made to N.C. State Engineering Foundation, Inc., North Carolina State University.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18