John Ernest Byrd

A faithful and devoted husband, father and brother, passed away peacefully Monday, March 5, 2012, at age 87. He was a home builder and contractor, a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army, and a lifelong resident of Baton Rouge. He was the only son of eight siblings. Survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Myrna Gale Jisr and Aziz Jisr, Scottsdale, Ariz.; sons and daughter-in-law, Darell Byrd and Sharon Domingue Byrd, John Byrd III and Kathy Halphen Byrd and Kieran Jerome Byrd, all of Baton Rouge; two sisters and a brother-in-law, Verda Byrd Williams and Patricia and Calvin Thierry; nine grandchildren, nine greatgrandchildren and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his wife, Doris Mildred Ricard Byrd; a daughter, Betty Byrd Williams; parents, John and Beatrice Byrd; five sisters, Janice Byrd, Beulah LaMotte, Ethel Amar, Cecelia Key and Alease Darensbourg. Visitation at St. Agnes Catholic Church Friday, March 9, from 8 a.m. until Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m., with the Rev. Joe Camilleri, celebrant. Pallbearers will be Darell Byrd, John Byrd III, Aziz Jisr, Jerome Byrd, Eric Weil, Jonathan Byrd. Interment in Greenoaks Memorial Park with arrangements by Rabenhorst Funeral Home.