Katherine Jean Byars

Jean Hamner Byars, 100, of Jasper, Alabama, passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, September 7, 2024. The family will have a private graveside service but will have a time of visitation with family and friends at Jasper’s First Baptist Church on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, from 2 until 3 p.m., directed by Kilgore-Green Funeral Home.

She was preceded in death by her husband, George Luther Byars, Jr.; son, George Stephen Byars; father, Holly G. Hamner; mother, Buena Singleton Hamner; brothers, Charles Hamner, George Hamner, Mack Hamner and Billy Hamner; and sisters, Sarah Anne Hamner and Nancy Binavidez.

She is survived by her son, Thomas Luther Byars (Carol); daughter-in-law, Emily Byars; sister, Sue Underwood (Herbert); grandchildren, Jill Byars Gaston, John Byars, Rebekah Byars Cooper (Kyle), Amy Byars Sanders (Jacob), and Andy Byars (Samantha) and 16 great-grandchildren.

The family appreciates the love, care, and friendship of Donna Jones and several Visiting Angels over the years.

Jean was born December 13, 1923, in Townley, AL. She graduated from Carbon Hill High School in 1941 and came to Jasper for employment. Her first job was for Miss Jennie Lou Palmer, typing abstracts for an oil company. She also worked part-time for J. C. Penney until a permanent secretary job opened at Leake Insurance Agency in 1942. There, she met her future husband, G. L. Byars, Jr., in February of 1946, and they married five months later. They established Byars Insurance shortly after, where she worked 46 years in office and personnel management, except when she took off to have her two sons, Steve and Tom. Byars Insurance, Inc. was formally incorporated in 1976, and she finished her career there as secretary/treasurer in 1992.

Jean joined Jasper’s First Baptist Church in 1943. She was active in all areas of church life, including teaching Sunday School for many years, beginning with 14-year-old girls and moving on to young married ladies and eventually older ladies. She was a Junior Training Union leader, sang in the choir, participated in WMU, and even served as church secretary for a time.

In her free time, Jean was a Red Cross Volunteer Nurses Aid and was a charter member of the Pilot Club of Jasper.

The family requests that donations be made in lieu of flowers to the Jasper’s First Baptist Church, P. O. Box 71, Jasper, AL 35502 or charity of your choice.