Byrd Garrison Jr.

Byrd C. Garrison Jr.,  86, of Grand Island, died on Saturday, December 22, 2012 at Grand Island Veterans’ Home.

Memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 12, at All Faiths Funeral Home Chapel in Grand Island followed by inurnment in Grand Island City Cemetery with military honors by the United States Navy and Grand Island Veterans Honor Guards.

Byrd C. Garrison Jr. was born April 19, 1926, to Byrd Clyde Garrison Sr. and Pearl (Embree) Garrison of White County, Illinois.

Survivors include his wife, Margie Garrison of Grand Island; his children and their spouses, Brent and Laura Garrison of Keller, TX, Gina and Bill Whiteside of Scottsdale, AZ, Becky and Mike Haskins of Lincoln and Melissa and Rod Fries of Sidney; and stepdaughter and her husband, Lisa and Jimmy Johnson of Grand Island.

Also left to cherish his memory are six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Byrd’s favorite memories as a youth were of growing up near the Little Wabash River surrounded by an extended family. He attended schools in the area and played on the varsity basketball team that won the state tournament in 1943. At age 18 he was called to military service at the same time as his father. He served in the United States Navy during WWII, with a tour in the Philippines. He was honorably discharged on June 12, 1946.

Returning from the war, he settled in Carmi, Illinois and became involved in multiple facets of the oil exploration industry. There Byrd met his wife Virginia Nichols and they were united in marriage on March 7, 1951. Byrd worked for a number of major oil companies, which took him to locations all over the country. Eventually, they made their home in Gering, where they raised four children. In 1970, he formed Banner Drilling Company, an oil exploration and production company that was active in the Western Nebraska area until 1986.

Byrd retired in 1987 and relocated to Grand Island. After 45 years of marriage, his wife, Virginia Garrison, died on June 17, 1996. On July 14, 1998 married Margie Daily; together they shared 14 years. 

 Memorials are suggested to the Michael J. Fox Parkinson Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at http://www.michaeljfox.org.

Condolences may be left at http://www.giallfaiths.com.