William Earl Byard, Jr.

BYARD, William Earl, Jr., died Sunday, June 1, 2014. Born January 5, 1924, in Columbus, GA., to Ethel Mae Cotton and William Earl Byard, Sr., he graduated Jordan Vocational High School in June of 1941, and became a member of the Army Air Corps on April 5, 1943. He participated in 21 combat missions over Continental Europe as a Radio Operator on a B-17 from the 8th Air Force Base in Kimbolton, England, and then entered the service of the Central of Georgia Railroad in June of 1945. He was united in marriage to Evelyn Irene McCune on September 9, 1945, and retired from Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad (GM&O) in 1985 as Division Freight Traffic Manager. Preceded in death by his parents and wife, he is survived by his children, Rodney William (Rebecca) Byard, Kenneth Wayne (Laura) Byard, & Janice Lynn Byard (Alan) Lott; grandchildren, Leslie Anne (Michael) Benner, Philip William (Marisa) Byard, Morgan McCune Byard, Tilghman Jackson Byard, Mary Evelyn Lott, Allyson Lynn Lott, & Ann Douglas Lott; great-grandchildren, Lawrence Lynch Benner, William Byard Benner, & Leighton Mainous Benner. His Visitation will be held on Friday, June 6, 2014, at 1 PM, at the First Baptist Church of Montgomery, followed by his Funeral Service at 2 PM, with Dr. Jay Wolf officiating. Interment will follow in Greenwood Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Community Missions- 1st Baptist Church- 305 South Perry St.-Montgomery, AL 36104.Leak Memory Chapel Directing.