Mrs. Kathleen W Byrd

Kathleen Wells Byrd, 90, of Chattanooga passed away January 14, 2020. She was a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, but spent much of her childhood in Cleveland. She was raised by her great aunt and grandmother and graduated from Bradley High School. There she met her future husband, Sharon Ray Byrd, who she married on December 31st, 1954. They soon welcomed their three children, Luanne, Tom, and Amy.

Kathleen built a home filled with all sorts of life and beauty. She loved gardening, and her yard was always filled with beautiful irises, daffodils and roses. She loved her pets - cats Nick, Slick, and Lola and her bassett hounds, Molly, Henrietta and others. And of course, she spent much of her time loving and being loved by the three of us and our dad. She served as a Cub Scout den mother in Tom’s early years, welcoming a gang of boys into her home month after month.

But her ministry extended far beyond her own family. She spent years caring for other children in addition to her own, babysitting them in the afternoons alongside her own kids. She and Dad were familiar faces in the nursery at Brainerd Baptist Church, where they were members and cared for preschoolers on a regular basis.

When grandchildren entered the picture, she regularly cared for them. On many days she could be found taking them on special outings or giving them coffee with just a little bit of cream, a favorite in her house. Family visits were filled with tasting honeysuckles in the back yard, watching VHS movies from the church library or eating pimento cheese sandwiches.

She was selfless with her time and generous with her resources, always thinking of others before herself – all the while having a biting wit and a good-natured sense of humor. Her love for the Lord was evident in the ways she loved her family and friends. She spent the last ten years of her life in a nursing home, where she touched many CNAs and nurses with her kindness.

A Celebration of Kathleen’s Life will be held in the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home on Sunday January 19, 2020 at 2:00pm with Rev. Dr. Steve Rowland officiating. The family will receive friends two hours prior beginning at 12:00 pm. She will be laid to rest with her husband, Ray in the Hamilton Memorial Gardens.

Arrangements are under the care of Chattanooga Funeral Home Crematory and Florist East Chapel, 404 South Moore Road, East Ridge, TN 37412.

Please share your thoughts and memories at www.ChattanoogaEastChapel.com