Charles F. Byrd, Jr., 84, of Hendersonville passed away Saturday, September 26, 2020 at Carolina Village Medical Center.
Born in Augusta, GA, he was the son of the late Charles F. Byrd, Sr. and Ruth Jackson Byrd. He was also preceded in death by his in-laws, Porter and Bertha Simpson, and his daughter-in-law, Robin Byrd.
Charles and Barbara were married in 1957. He graduated from Mercer in 1958 and received his Master’s in Education and Education Specialist degrees from Georgia Southern University. He proudly served in the US Army from 1958 to 1963.
Charles was employed by the Richmond County Board of Education as a teacher, assistant principal and principal, retiring in 1988. During his retirement, he was a substitute teacher for Henderson County. Because he loved working with kids, he volunteered at Black Mountain Children’s Home and taught Sunday School at Crawford Avenue Baptist Church in Augusta, GA and at Hendersonville Presbyterian Church.
He also enjoyed serving his community as a volunteer fireman for the WRFD in Augusta, GA for many years and was on their Board of Directors. Charles was a part-time DJ for WGUS in Augusta on the weekends and was a lifelong Lion’s Club member. After moving to Hendersonville in 1988, he volunteered at the Carl Sandburg Home in Flat Rock, NC, where he loved working with the baby goats and conducting tours of the home.
Charles loved riding motorcycles and taught motorcycle safety courses for over 20 years. He also provided emergency organ transplant transportation via motorcycle. In addition to his love for motorcycles, he enjoyed taking his family to Springmaid Beach every summer, camping, traveling to Civil War battlefields, music and old movies.
Charles was a Christian who loved Jesus, his family and helping others. He was an active member of both Crawford Baptist Church in Augusta, GA and Hendersonville Presbyterian Church where he served as Deacon, Elder, choir member and Sunday School teacher. He also wrote a play for Hendersonville Presbyterian Church.
Charles is survived by his wife, Barbara Simpson Byrd; children, Laura Byrd Musgrove (Dan), and Steve Byrd; grandchildren, Meghan Cano (Sergio), Kristen Anderson, Brandy Powell, and Amanda Powell (Tony); and great-grandchildren, Alexia, Porter, Parker, Sofia and Sergio.
A Memorial Service will be held at 2 pm on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at Hendersonville Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Rob McClelland will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8516, the American Heart Association, PO Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692, or to ASPCA, 520 8th Avenue, 7th Floor, NY, NY 10018.
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Time: 2:00 pm
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Blanca M Nuckolls posted on 10/29/20
Dear Barbara, I'm so sorry I'm late in sending my condolences. I'm very grateful for the time Charlie gave us at The Healing Place. I have no doubt that he made a great impact in the lives of the children we served with our school programs. I learned a lot from Charlie for he never stopped teaching. May the Lord lovingly comfort and strengthen you during these difficult times.