- OBITUARY
Montgomery Advertiser
10-15 Dec. 2017
Jennings Murray ("Jay") Byrd, 94, departed this life on Saturday, December 2, 2017, at his home in Montgomery, Alabama. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Lanning Wright Byrd; five children and their spouses, Robert L. Byrd (Sally), James M. Byrd (Mary), Lisbeth Byrd Jackson (Lewis), Knoxye Wright Williams (Danny), and James Myles Wright (Debra); eight grandchildren, Stephen Byrd, Sarah Byrd, Elizabeth Byrd, Haas Byrd, Anne Jackson Turner, Gregory Jackson, Lanning St. George (Josh) and Jennings Wright (Kelli); and four great-grandchildren, Ashley Byrd, Boaz Byrd, Enoch Byrd, and Haas Turner. He was predeceased by his brothers Joseph Lowe Byrd, Jr., James Donald Byrd, and Johnnie Bryars Byrd and his sister Elizabeth Ann Byrd Arnold.
Mr. Byrd was born in Brewton, Alabama, the son of Joseph Lowe Byrd and Annie Ruth Bryars Byrd. He attended Brewton Elementary School and T. R. Miller High School, where he was a varsity baseball player for four years. He served in the U.S. Army from January 1943 through December 1945, participating in the invasion of Iwo Jima and other battles in the Pacific and receiving the Bronze Star Medal. From 1946 to 1949 he was a student at the University of Alabama, where he played on the varsity baseball team and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising and Selling. Returning to Brewton, he played professional baseball with the Brewton Millers of the Alabama State League, taught school, and was Brewton City Clerk before entering the life insurance business as a salesman with Equitable of New York attaining membership in the company's Million Dollar Round Table. In 1949 Mr. Byrd married Mary Lisbeth Haas of Mobile, Alabama. He and his family moved to Montgomery in 1962, where he continued to represent Equitable Life Insurance (now AXA). After his first marriage ended in 1981, he married Margaret Ann ("Peggy") Lanning Wright, a Montgomery resident and native of Birmingham. Mr. Byrd was an active member of Whitfield Memorial United Methodist Church, serving as an usher and on the administrative board. He was known especially for his many years of visiting and assisting church members who were homebound or in nursing facilities. He was a member also of the Capital City Kiwanis Club, which awarded him the Pearson "Doc" Burke Memorial Award for Outstanding Service in 1989-90. The Montgomery Area Council on Aging (MACOA) recognized him as a Senior of Achievement in 2005. A memorial service for Mr. Byrd will be held at Whitfield UMC on December 16th at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to MACOA Meals on Wheels Program. A special thanks to family friend Gayle Todd, and to Answered Prayer Home Care and his wonderful caregivers Brenda Miles, Rolanda Wilson, and Amanda Caldwell. Link to Southern Memorial
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