Posted on 11/29/2004 8:15:32 PM PST by paulat
Stephen Byrne (NOTE: MY EMPHASIS BELOW)
Stephen James BYRNE Steve, who lived in Edmonds, savored life. He has left us now, in a struggle to find peace, and we will miss him.
But we will remember that savoring of life, his love of sailing, biking, cross country skiing, diving, hiking. His love of an incredible mountain vista, how the leaves turned gold in the fall, a great bottle of wine and a wonderful meal with friends, a long ride around Lake Washington or up Washington Pass, completing the STP bike ride for the first time, and the second.
He loved his friends and family as well, and we loved him. More than anything in the world, Steve loved his daughters, Kelsey and Hayley. He was at every soccer game, every school performance, every important event in their lives. He taught them how to do all the things he loved - ride bicycles, go sea kayaking, ski, or simply find some good snow to play in. They read together, played games, went to movies, worked on school projects. He hiked halfway up Mount Rainier with them when they were very young, and all the way up on his own. He taught them by example to love the world, to be adventurous, and to be gentle. There is great tragedy in how his life ended, and theirs, but know that this was a loving, good man who did the best he could while struggling against an incomprehensible burden that none of those of us who loved him could have known.
He loved travel, and he had traveled far, from Nebraska to Asia, to the Middle East, to Europe. He traveled overland from Europe to northern Africa. He had lived abroad - in Pakistan and in France - and savored the knowledge of other cultures he gained from that experience. That was an important part of knowing Steve, knowing that he had been to just about any place in the world that might come up in conversation.
He was tolerant of other views, full of ideas, and a great conversationalist. He graduated from the University of Nebraska, and received a Masters Degree from Arizona State University. He taught at the University of Arizona before going to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif. He lived in Pakistan in 1988-1990, where he worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development, assisting the Pakistani people build an energy infrastructure in their country. When he returned to Berkeley, he launched a career as a software developer specializing in energy conservation. He moved to Bainbridge Island in 1994 with his family.
Steve was preceded in death by his father, John J. Byrne in 1997. He is survived by his mother Lorene Byrne of Mesa, AZ; a brother Tom (Arlette) Byrne of Encinitas, CA; three sisters: Shannon Byrne (Bill) Brower of Harbor Springs, MI; Teri Byrne (Bill) Marx of Bellevue, NE; Mitzi Byrne (Jim) Zimmerman of Oak Hill, VA; and his good friend Rita Hibbard of Edmonds. He was a favorite uncle of Ashley, John and Andy Brower; Michelle and David Byrne; Aimee, Josh, Ryan and Joey Marx; and Kate, Sam and Layne Zimmerman.
Memorial Service, Friday, Dec. 3, 11:00 a.m., in the Chapel of Beck's Funeral Home, 405 - 5th Ave. S., Edmonds, 425-771-1234. In lieu of flowers memorials may be given to Cascade Bicycle Club, P.O. Box 15165, Seattle, WA 98115. Published in print from 11/28/2004 - 11/29/2004. Guest Book • Funeral home info • Flowers Gift Shop • Charities
She could have also been a wife who was planning on dumping hubby, anyway, which would explain no ill will. So now instead of the hassle of a divorce and fighting for 1/2 their net worth, she gets only the few-days hassle of a funeral and gets all his money. :-)
The above scenario goes for any political leaning - liberal, conservative, anarchist, whatever. If she bore no genuine affection for hubby, why should she bear his assasin any ill will. From a certain point of view, the assasin did her a favor.
I wonder if the newspaper should be required to verify if all dearly departed have ~really~ "gone home to be with the Lord". Or... if everyone "dedicated to his work" was really just a "sonofabitch to work for".
The ironic thing for me in this is that when my Mom died, our local paper did run free obituaries out of the news department and maintained editorial control. They edited the obituary I wrote, changing my carefully chosen words to say something else that wasn't ~as~ accurate. I was furious that they did that and called and complained bitterly that my mom's permanent record was now wrong. They have paid service now, and don't claim any editorial control over content.
And so what if there is? Many deaths are reported in the news, and sometimes there is controversy, blame and criminal allegations surrounding deaths. That's the news. They ran the news story about the deaths... In the Obit, the family buys their space to say what they want. It isn't news, it's a classified. The safest position for the paper is to not maintain any responsibility to fact check claims in obituaries, beyond checking for an actual death certificate so people can't 'fake' death on people that are living. You want them looking into whether or not your relative was actually well liked in life or whether his employer really liked him in his 20 years of service? How about whether you can say something nice about a relative that, unfortunately, got drunk and smashed his car into a tree?
it just had to be more than just the $8000 dollars he owed...it just had to be, right?
I mean , a guy wouldn't murder two little angels over money, right?
tell me I'm right on this....please.......
I will bet you a million bucks that the Times now has a new policy on paid obits...I know for a fact a statement is forthcoming.
OK, add to that the guy probably couldn't stand the fact that Bush was re-elected.
I really have no idea, it's just too bizarre.
OK - use that example. If your drunk driving uncle hit a family head on and killed them, should your family be able to write an obituary for him that says something you want to say? Or should the newspaper be the only one saying what they want?
I am just arguing that it's either a paid service where the content is submitted by the family, or it isn't.
I am curious now, what would happen if the family submitted an obituary that says "Aunt Thelma was a real witch and we are all glad she is dead." You never see that.
...get a clue....
I bet you'd be first in line to read the paid Jeffrey Dahlmer obit....
Jeepers, this is just an interesting debate, lighten up.
"He was a favorite uncle of Ashley, John and Andy Brower; Michelle and David Byrne; Aimee, Josh, Ryan and Joey Marx; and Kate, Sam and Layne Zimmerman."
I wonder if he is such a favorite uncle now?
Now, the question is how did they allow this to happen?
The father is a coward.
From Legacy.com which technically runs the site for online viewing and for hard-copy publishing:
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ONLY in Seattle....This is an example of the same warped mind set that exists at DSHS here in Washington State. Many children have been murdered here by their own parents after being returned by DSHS. Just as in this glowing obit.,not much mention of the fact he murdered his own daughters.....
These kind of obits are a paid service submitted by the families, they are not written by the newspaper. This fact seems to be lost on many.
This is an example of the same warped mind set that exists at DSHS here in Washington State. Many children have been murdered here by their own parents after being returned by DSHS.
Yes, and many threads here at FR argue that the Jack Booted thugs at DSHS too often interfere in the lives of families and that they need to respect the parent's right to parent. I am not suggesting that's the case here, only that there are two sides to that coin, that tragedies happen no matter which side they err on, and this debate is hardly isolated to Seattle.
The Times has editorial control and has the ultimate responsibility as to the content of its publication. They don't run sex club ads or escort service ads...some of which may not be illegal.
YOU are the one not getting it....
If the Seasick Times were paid to run an Obit saying he was model for other fathers they would do it (fact check an Obit? Have you see the front page?). Somewhere in between lies the truth.. or more lies.
They should not have run it, but THIS IS A PAID DEATH NOTICE, run in the classifieds.
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