ARTIE ‘T’ BYRD

Services for Artie “T” Byrd, of Brookhaven, are 2 p.m. Tuesday,July 14, at Siloam M.B. Church with burial in the church cemetery.Williams Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Visitation is Monday from 1 until 8 p.m. at the funeral homewith family present from 7 until 8 p.m.

Mr. Byrd, 87, died July 6, 2009, at Countrybrook Living Center.He was born in Lincoln County on Feb. 9, 1922, to Johnny Byrd andHannah Buie Byrd.

He attended Midway School in Lincoln County and graduated fromMcDonogh 35 in New Orleans, La. He was a self-employed buildingconstruction contractor and the night engineer at Whitney NationalBank in New Orleans, where he retired after more than 30 years ofservice. He was a member of the Smoking for Jesus Ministries in NewOrleans and the Fraternal Order of the Masons. He was also a U.S.Army veteran of World War II and a quartet singer with his brotherfor many years.

Mr. Byrd relocated to his birthplace of Brookhaven following thedevastation of Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed his home andcaused him to lose everything he owned.

Preceding him in death were his parents; his daughter, Mary LeeByrd; his son, Terry Lee Byrd; his granddaughter, Elease Underwood;and his brothers, Willie Byrd, Marzell Byrd, Melvin Byrd andClinton Byrd.

Survivors are his wife, Annie Lois Hathorn Byrd, of Brookhaven;his children, Johnnie Mae Davis, of Roy, Utah, Minor Lee Wilcherand wife, Bessie, of Champaign, Ill., Voncile Johnson, DeniseSpellman and husband, Gerald, and Muriel Randle, all of NewOrleans, and Artie Randle and wife, Ezell, of Slidell, La.; hisbrother, Linton Byrd and wife, Marie, of Champaign; his sister,Lucy Harrington Ferguson, of Bogue Chitto; 11 grandchildren; 13great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; two devotednieces, Hannah Mae Hill and Mae Bell Fells, both of Brookhaven; andmany other nieces, nephews and other relatives.