Frank M. Byers Jr.

1916 - 2015

Frank Milton Byers, Jr., 99, a retired U.S. Geological Survey geologist died July 12, 2015 at his home in Longmont. Frank was born in Moline, Illinois, March 5, 1916, the son of Frank Milton Byers and Stella Surman Byers. Frank graduated from Augustana Lutheran College and received his Doctorate in Geology from the University of Chicago. He joined the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington, D.C. in 1941. There on the Survey he met his wife-to-be, Virginia Beverly Pratt. They married June 10, 1945 in Denver. She preceded him in death in December, 2006. His assignments in Washington during WW II included antimony, coal, and tungsten investigations in Alaska and Nevada. He was head-quartered in Denver in 1949 and continued work on Alaskan projects until 1952 when he began field work in California, Colorado Plateau and Nevada (Yucca Mountain Project). He retired from the USGS in 1980, but soon joined the Los Alamos National Laboratory where he was a full-time Research Geologist until retiring in 1988. He continued to consult for the Lab and for the USGS in Lakewood until age 90. Frank loved the outdoors and hiked thousands of miles across geological formations in his work. He was a scout master and enjoyed hunting pheasants every year with friends. Frank was a devoted husband who cared for his wife for many years while she was in a nursing home. Survivors include four children, Dr. John Byers (Dr. Anat Levi-Zada) and grandson Ithamar; Carol Sandstrom (Ron) and grandchildren Erik and Erin; Dr. Hugh Byers M.D. (Danielle Levi Alvares) and grandchildren Julie Cordier (Yvan) and Jonathan Bayle (Jenny); Ardath Belzer (Terry) and grandchildren Anton and Brigitte. Great-grandchildren include Joachim and Eve Cordier and Noah Bayle. Family memorial services will be held at a future date.