BEVERLY: Elizabeth W. “Betty” (Richard) Byrne, 87, died Thursday, May 17, 2012 at Twin Oaks Nursing Home with her children by her side.
Born in Salem on December 31, 1924, she was the daughter of the late Edmund J. and Wilhelmina E. (Klink) Richard. She resided in Wenham for many years. After graduating from Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School, Betty continued her education and moved to Dayton, OH, where she worked as a secretary at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for several years before returning to Massachusetts and residing in Beverly.
Betty worked at the former United Shoe Machinery Corporation and as a waitress at Calitri’s and Bickford’s for a number of years. She enjoyed tennis, boating, the beach and had a passion for plants and gardening. Betty loved to be around family and friends and had a wonderful, witty sense of humor that always made those around her laugh. Betty will be greatly missed as she touched many lives and hearts of those who knew and loved her. The family would also like to thank all the staff at Twin Oaks for the wonderful care and compassion that Betty received while under their care.
She is survived by her daughter, Leslie Ann Byrne of Salem; her son and daughter-in-law, Ted and Tina (Vitale) Byrne of Beverly; her beloved grandson, Edward R. “Jay” Byrne, IV, his wife, Kylie and their daughter, Reagan Elizabeth Byrne of Norfolk, VA; a granddaughter, Jennifer Allen; three brothers, Robert Richard and Philip Richard and his wife Ginger all of Beverly, and Paul Richard of Ipswich; a sister-in-law, Shirley Richard of Danvers and many nieces and nephews. She was also predeceased by her son, Edward R. “Jay” Byrne, III; her former spouse, Edward R. Byrne, Jr., and two brothers, Edmund Richard and Arthur “Pinky” Richard.
Her funeral service will be held on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. in the Grondin Funeral Home, 376 Cabot Street, Beverly. Visitation will be held prior to the service from 9 – 11 a.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in her memory to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, P. O. Box 650309, Dallas, TX 75265-0309 (ww5.komen.org).