Obituary

Graveside services for Clyde Joe Byrd will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, 2009, at Parklawn Memorial Gardens in Plainview, Texas, with Silas Short officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Abell Funeral Home of Hale Center. Clyde died Sunday, March 22, 2009, in Plainview, Texas. He was born May 4, 1921, in Petersburg, Texas, to Andrew F. and Laura Fields Byrd. He married June Elizabeth Smith on June 23, 1942. They moved to Petersburg, to Cotton Center in 1945 and to Hale Center in 1956. She preceded him in death in 1994. He is survived by two sons and daughters-in-law, Joe M. and Edith Byrd of Plainview and Robert and Jane Byrd of Hale Center; a daughter and son-in-law, Brenda and Mark Laney, also of Hale Center; four grandchildren, Lisa Clifton, Shane Byrd, Bobby Byrd and Beth Pelphrey; four great-grandchildren, Corbin and Cyler Clifton and Ashlyn and Aynsley Byrd; a brother, Clarence Byrd; and three sisters, Annie Scarborough, Lily Behrendsen and Pansy Tullis. He was preceded in death by brothers, Aubrey, Robert and Tommy Byrd; and sisters, Viola Johnson and Pearl Day. He also was preceded by a grandson, Mitchell Moore. Clyde was a farmer in Hale County and longtime resident of Hale Center. He was an avid domino player and loved playing dominoes at Plainview Senior Citizens and Hale Center American Legion. He was a veteran of World War II. For the past two years, Clyde was lovingly cared for by Richard and Lydia Gaitan. The family will have visitation from 6-7:30 p.m. this evening at Abell Funeral Home in Hale Center. If desired, memorials may be made to Plainview Senior Citizens, Hale Center Senior Citizens or Area Community Hospice.