Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Richard Evelyn Sr. BYRD
Richard Evelyn “Dick” Byrd Sr. passed away Sunday morning at his Berryville home surrounded by family. The 86-year-old had been in failing health in recent months, according to son Richard E. Byrd Jr. of Thailand.
Byrd was born April 26, 1923, in Winchester, the son of Harry F. Byrd Sr. and Anne Douglas Byrd. Three years later, his father was elected governor of Virginia, a post the elder Byrd held until 1930. In 1933, the Berryville Democrat began a 32-year stint as a U.S. senator.
Though Richard E. Byrd Sr. spent part of his boyhood living at the governor’s mansion in Richmond, he didn’t follow his father or his older brother, Harry F. Byrd Jr., into politics [Harry F. Byrd Jr. held his father’s Senate seat from 1965 to 1983].
“[My father] had strong opinions, which almost everyone in the family had,” Richard E. Byrd Jr. said with a slight chuckle, “but he did not seek public office. He was a very private person.”
Instead of politics, Richard E. Byrd Sr. focused on another commodity his family was known for: apples.
The Byrd’s interest in apples began in 1906. By the mid-1950s, Harry F. Byrd Sr. and his three sons — Harry Jr., B. Beverley Sr., and Richard Sr. — had 5,000 acres of orchards from Charles Town, W.Va., to New Market that produced 1.5 million bushels of apples a year. The operation, known as H.F. Byrd Inc., included a cannery and packing houses.
Richard E. Byrd Sr. headed up the canning division after returning home from World War II, where he sustained injuries in the European theater while serving in 10th Armored Division under Gen. George S. Patton. From 1966 to 1980, he was president of H.F. Byrd Inc.
About a decade ago, Richard E. Byrd Sr. handed off his orchard operations to nephews Harry F. Byrd III and B. Beverley Byrd Jr., both of Clarke County. The orchards are now gone.
“He was a very kind, gentle person,” Richard E. Byrd Jr. said of his father. “He had a high sense of integrity, which was part of his upbringing and part of his character.”
When it came to financial matters, “He was very strict,” his son said.
Byrd was married for 58 years to Helen Bradshaw Byrd, who died in 2005. In the early years of their marriage, the couple lived at Avenel in Clarke County. From 1967 to 1997, they lived at Rosemont, the Berryville estate where Harry F. Byrd Sr. made his home until his death in 1966. A dozen years ago, Richard and Helen Byrd sold Rosemont and moved to Westwood Farm.
Though Byrd kept a lower profile than other members of his family, he served on the board of directors for Colonial Williamsburg, was a former deacon at Grace Episcopal Church in Berryville, and was chairman of the local draft board during the Vietnam era.
He also was an avid hiker who played tennis into his 60s.
Byrd graduated from Episcopal High School in Alexandria and attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington for one year before going into the Army.
In addition to son Richard Jr., Byrd is survived by daughter Lucy Bradshaw Byrd of Vienna and son William Benton Byrd of Sterling; a brother, Harry F. Byrd Jr. of Winchester; and four grandchildren.
A brother, B. Beverley Byrd Sr., and a sister, Westwood Byrd, are deceased.
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