Jack E Byron Sr.

10/7/1935 to 01/15/2011

Born: Auburn, Maine

Jack went to Skowhegan High School until his senior year and then transferred to Wilton Academy in Wilton Maine, where he excelled in all sports especially football. Back in those days there were no football helmets and he had the nose to prove it. After graduation in 1954, he enrolled in the Air Force, going to boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base. Realizing that he couldn't live without his high school sweetheart, he came back to Skowhegan, married Diane Giroux on June 25th, 1955, and shipped the both of them to Hunter Air Force Base in Savannah Georgia, to serve his 4 years in the service.

Somehow during his duties, he had time to have a daughter, Denise on June 23rd, 1956. Jack was honorably discharged from the service in 1958, and started out (unbeknown st to him) on a career in insurance. Not wanting to sell door to door for the rest of his life, he decided to pack up the family and move to Alaska to work on the pipe line and possibly discover gold. So he made plans to move right after the birth of their first son, Curtis who was born July 6th, 1959. In September of 1959, he packed up the family and headed for Alaska, making a quick stop in Anderson, CA to visit his mother and grandmother.

Not wanting to head for Alaska at the start of winter, he decided to stay in Northern California and work thru the winter and get to Alaska the next spring. His first job in N. CA, was with the California Department of Forestry in French Gulch, working the big French Gulch fire of that year. After that he worked for the Conservation Corp, building erosion dams and planting ponderosa pines, in the area behind Shasta Dam, damaged by the copper smelters. By this time, we must assume that logic or Diane had talked reason into him, and she wasn't moving to Alaska. The weather was to cold like Skowhegan and the climate was much warmer in Redding.

So in 1961, he went back into insurance, as a life insurance salesman, at Prudential and had his second son, Jack Jr. on June 24th.

Jack and Diane settled in Old Shasta in 1959, where he was active in the kid's school sports, at Shasta Elementary School, helping develop the new basketball and track teams for both boys and girls. He served as a volunteer fireman for the Old Shasta Fire Dept. and fought both the Swasey Drive and Lower Springs fires in the 70's. Somewhere along the line he also learned how to play golf and joined Riverview Golf and Country Club in 1966. Around that same time, he left Prudential and went to work at West Coast Life Insurance, advancing to Northern California District Manager.

In 1972, he started Jack Byron Insurance and expanded from just selling Life Insurance, to selling property and casualty insurance to his life clients.

In 1981, he built his and Diane's dream house out by Shasta College and moved to Redding.

In 1984, he merged Jack Byron Insurance and Speer, Balkovek and Adkins into what became SFl Insurance Services, one of the largest agencies in Redding at that time.

In 1988, Jack helped found and became a charter member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Northern California Chapter. He chaired numerous banquets and was a lifetime member.

In 1991, he figured 30+ years in the insurance business, 2 heart attacks and a 5 way bypass was enough and retired from insurance.

Jack enjoyed Golf, Hunting, Fishing, traveling, riding his Mule's, packing into a wilderness area and terrorizing his children. He traveled back and forth to Maine many, times and set a cross country record, taking his family from Redding to Skowhegan in a Corvair in 3 days.

Jack is preceded in death by his wife, Diane, son Robert and grandson Matthew.

Jack leaves his younger brother Thomas Byron, 2 sons, Curtis and Jack Jr., a daughter Denise Jensen, daughter in law Debbie Byron, son in law Randy Jensen, granddaughters Ashley Jensen, Andrea Miller, Lindsey Lee, Taylor Byron, Samantha Imel, Kennedy Diane Byron, Grandsons Jake Byron, Tanner Byron and 3 great grandkids; and many extended family members on the east coast.