Ray Byrd

Ray Byrd, 88, of Thornton, Colorado, passed away on February 17, 2021, after a short illness. Ray was born in Bethpage, Tennessee, on March 2, 1932, to Willie and Evie Sloan Byrd. He enlisted in the United States Air Force as a teenager and retired in 1971, after a long and distinguished career. Ray met Lina Weiland on a blind date in Denver and they were married on January 4, 1957. They lived in Newfoundland, Canada, where he was stationed at Ernest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville. Both of his children, Michael and Diana were born in Newfoundland. He finished his military career at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas. After retiring from the Air Force, the family moved to Westminster, Colorado, where Ray worked in the material handling industry for many years. Ray was preceded in death by his parents Willie and Evie Sloan Byrd, brothers William Bennett Byrd, Thomas Sloan Byrd, Mitchell Ford Byrd, Vance Byrd, James Blankenship Byrd, and Ralph Douglas Byrd; and sisters Annie Davis Jones, and Selma Hawkins. Ray is survived by his wife, Lina of Thornton, Colorado, and pups Toby and Ricky; son Michael Byrd of Thornton, Colorado; daughter Diana Byrd of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; brother Scott Byrd and wife Norene, of Bethpage, Tennessee; sister-in-law Pat Weiland, of Brighton, Colorado; and many nieces and nephews. Services will be held at Olinger Crown Hill Chapel, 7777 W. 29th Ave., Wheatridge, Colorado, on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. with visitation preceding the service at 9:00 a.m. The Masonic Lodge of Westminster, Colorado, will assist, and full military honors will be given at interment. Memorial donations may be made to a veterans charity of your choice, the Eastern Star Masonic Retirement Community in Denver, Colorado, or another charity of your choice. We entrust our beloved Ray on the anniversary of his birth to the fullness of grace given to him at his baptism and for which he was created and given life.