Edward Earl Byrd

FUQUAY-VARINA – Edward Earl Byrd, 70, passed away at his home on Thursday. Born in Harnett County, he is the son of Edison Cleveland Byrd of Coats and the late Geraldine Ryan Byrd.

Earl, as he’s known to most, grew up in a large farming family. He was a hard worker from a very young age and kept this work ethic throughout his 70 years. After graduating from Angier High School, he attended W.W. Holding (known today as Wake Technical Community College), where he studied automotive mechanics. Earl worked for Al Smith Buick in Raleigh for 34 years and then continued his career with the North Carolina Highway Patrol where he repaired and maintained patrol vehicles until he retired in February of 2015.

In addition to being a hard worker, Earl enjoyed life. In the Fall and Winter, weekends were spent in the woods hunting. In Spring and Summer, he could be found in the garden tilling, weeding, or planting. He never missed an opportunity to teach. He loved teaching his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and anyone else, about gardening or hunting or fishing.

There are countless people who have a story to tell about something they learned from Earl or how he helped them out with something. His life touched so many, and he will be missed greatly.

A funeral service will be held at 2:00 pm on Monday, March 6th in the chapel of Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, Angier. Burial will follow the service at Lakeside Memorial Gardens, Angier. The family will receive friends from 12:00 to 1:45 pm at the funeral home prior to the service.

In addition to his father, Earl is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Joan Lee Byrd; daughter, Jessica Byrd Trembly of Angier; son, Jason Edward Byrd (Luvi Davila) of Lillington; sisters, Joan Tart (Billy) of Coats, and Gale Turlington (Alex) of Coats; brothers, Bobby Byrd (Brenda) of Angier, William Byrd (Debbie) of Benson, Tony Byrd of Coats; grandchildren, Donovan Trembly, Brooke Trembly, Eddie Byrd, Javier Garcia, Melissa Garcia, and Josue Garcia.

In addition to his mother, he is preceded in death by his brother, Don Ray Byrd.