Byrne, Philip Joseph, III,
May 1, 2012 by Ellen Jarus Hanley
CHESHIRE – Philip Joseph Byrne, III, 85 passed away on Sunday, April 29, 2012 at Elim Park Baptist Home in Cheshire.
He was born on June 11, 1926 in Atlantic City, N.J., son of the late Philip Joseph Byrne, Jr., and Marie Elenita (Fitzgerald) Byrne.
Phil lived in Atlantic City, N.J,., Baton Rouge, La., Hillside, N.J., Mannheim, Germany, Elmora, N.J., Aruba, N.W.I., Westfield, N.J., Cambridge, Mass., Rochester, N.Y., Waterbury, Conn., and Cheshire, Conn.
He was educated in schools in Elmora, N.J., Aruba, N.W.I., and Westfield, N.J. He served in the U.S. Navy, in the Pacific and Atlantic Theaters from July 1944, to July 1946, and was honorably discharged as an Electronics Technician, Third Class. He attended and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1950 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
He worked for the Delco Appliance Division of the General Motors Corporation and retired from the Timex Corporation in 1982 after 29 years involved with manufacturing time fuses, watches, clocks, special timers, and gyroscopes.
Phil served on the Cheshire Zoning Board of Appeals and on the Planning and Zoning Commission for a period of 20 years. He was also involved in the Boy Scouts of America, the Little League baseball program, the Cheshire High School Parents Group, the CHA Athletics Boosters Club, and several Square Dance Clubs. He was a member of St. Bridget Parish, the Santa Fe Council of the Knights of Columbus, and the AARP.
Phil is survived by his spouse of 61 years, Jean M. (Fleming) Byrne; his sisters, Sr. Katherine T. Byrne, from Maryknoll, N.Y., and Maryellen Judson and her husband Tom Judson; sons Philip J. Byrne, IV and his wife Nancy L. Byrne of Elizabeth, Colo., and Edward R. Byrne and his wife Anne N. Byrne of Boulder, Colo.; daughter Katherine T. Begin and her husband Robert Begin of Hardwick, Mass.; and son James R. Byrne and his wife Kathleen R. Byrne of Syracuse, N.Y.; and three grandsons, six granddaughters, a great-granddaughter, and a great-grandson.
Visitation will occur on Thursday, May 3, at the Alderson Funeral Home of Cheshire, 615 Main St., from 4 to 7 p.m. His funeral will be held on Friday, May 4, at 9 a.m. from the funeral home to St. Bridget Church, 175 Main St., Cheshire for a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m., with burial following in the St. Bridget Cemetery, Higgins Rd., Cheshire. Donations in Philip’s name may be made to the Elim Park Baptist Home, 150 Cook Hill Rd., Cheshire, CT 06410. To view these arrangements online, send a condolence, or light a memorial candle, please visit www.aldersonfuneralhomes.com.