www.heraldandnews.com
Daniel William ‘Dan’ Byrne
Herald and News 10/8/08
Memorial
services for
Daniel William “Dan” Byrne will be held on Saturday,
Oct. 11, 2008, at 11 a.m. at the Tulelake Fire Hall
in Tulelake, Calif.
Mr. Byrne, 54, died of natural causes at his residence in Tulelake on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008, with his wife Geri and family at his side.
Disposition was by Pyramid Cremations. Private family inurnment services will be held at the Malin Cemetery with Rev. Austin J. Cribbin officiating.
Dan was born on Sept. 19, 1954, in Klamath Falls, Ore., to Robert A. Byrne and Elizabeth Byrne (Dalton) Shirley.
He at t ended Newel l Elementary School and graduated from Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose, Calif., in 1972, then earned his bachelor of science degree in farm management from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo in 1977. While at Cal Poly, he met his future wife Geri Bielar and they were married in 1978 following her graduation from Cal Poly.
Dan returned home after graduation and operated the family ranch with his father and his brothers. He was a progressive and conservation-minded rancher, who took great pride in running cattle while also working in partnerships to improve stewardship and the land. He and his brother Mike were awarded the Society for Range Management California Section Award in Excellence in Range Management in 1968 as well as the conservation award from the Klamath Soil and Water Conservation District and the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair Farmer and Rancher of the Year Award, both in 2007.
Dan was an advocate for agriculture throughout his life and was an active member of the Modoc County Farm Bureau for over 20 years and the California Farm Bureau Public Lands Committee a nd ser ved as the District 19 Director of the California Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors, representing Modoc, Lassen, Plumas and Sierra counties since 2005. He also was a member of the California Cattlemen’s Association and the Modoc County Republican Central Committee.
Dan was selected by his peers to receive the Modoc County Cattleman of the Year Award in 1997 and the California Farm Bureau Federation Distinguished Service Award in 2008.
He is survived by his wife, Geri, of Tulelake; a sister, Elizabeth Flynn, of Danville, Calif., and her sons, Michael and Thomas; a brother, Bob and his wife Cory of Tulelake and their daughters, Melissa, Gwen and Katelyn; a brother, Mike and his wife Bev, of Tulelake, and their son, Matt. and their, daughter Brianna; a sister, Pat Byrne, of Lodi, Calif.; his stepfather, Bob Shirley, of Chico, Calif.; and his mother-in-law, Joan Bielar, of Rocklin, Calif.
He was preceded i n death by his father Robert in 1988 and by his mother Elizabeth this March.
Ward’s Klamath Funeral Home (882-4404) is in charge of the arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing to do so may send contr ibutions to either the Modoc County Farm Bureau Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 1692, Alturas, CA 96101, or the California Cattlemen’s Association Livestock Memorial Research Fund, 1221 H. St., Sacramento, CA 95814.