Joseph Atlee Byrne

GETTYSBURG Joseph Atlee Byrne, 55, died Friday, May 4, 2007, at home, surrounded by his wife and children. His positive spirit and outlook inspired family and friends as he battled cancer for the past 10 months. Born January 10, 1952, in Lower Merion Township in suburban Philadelphia, the son of Vera F. Byrne, of Moorestown, N.J., and the late Thomas E. Byrne Jr. Joe was the husband of Patricia A. Lawson and father of M. Katharine Byrne and Colin Atlee Byrne, both at home. He and his wife would have celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary on May 17. Joe grew up a lover of the outdoors and especially enjoyed fly fishing, hiking, camping and white water rafting. An English teacher at Delone Catholic High School, Joe graduated from Beloit College in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in English. He earned a master's degree in journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University in 1978, and a master's in education from the University of Southern Maine in 1998. Joe began his career as a newspaper journalist, first with a weekly newspaper in South Philadelphia, later as the Sunday magazine editor at the Lebanon Daily News, and 11 years with the Lancaster New Era as an education reporter. After the family moved to Maine, Joe attended the ETEP Program at USM and received his teacher certification. He taught briefly at Maranacook High School in Readfield, Maine, before the family moved to Gettysburg in January 1999. Teaching always was an important part of his life, even as an undergraduate. During college, Joe studied at the School for Irish Studies in Dublin, and later taught for eight months at Shanderema Secondary School for Boys' in Kenya through the East African Society of Friends. While at Beloit, he also spent a term teaching outdoor education to middle school students in Gloucester, Mass. As the son of a trial attorney and a former journalist himself, Joe grew up in a large family where politics, literature and debate were a natural part of the dinner conversation. He taught his own two children and his high school students to ask questions, probe and to never settle for the easy answer. Questioning authority was encouraged. His wonderful spirit and easygoing nature belied the tenacious questioning that was his hallmark. In addition to his family and the outdoors, Joe also loved all things Irish, and as an adult took several trips back to Ireland with his wife and children. It is where his daughter took her first steps, and where he and his son fished for brown trout on Lake Conn near where he and his wife had honeymooned. In addition to his mother, wife and children, Joe is survived by four siblings, Thomas E. Byrne III, of Gladwyne, Michael Byrne, of Eureka, Calif., Eileen B. Barrett, of Moorestown, N.J., and Timothy E. Byrne, of Philadelphia; two sisters-in-law; a brother-in-law; and nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother, Lawrence F. Byrne. He was a member of St. Francis Xavier Church in Gettysburg, where a celebration of Joe's life will be held on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Melanoma Research Foundation, 24 Old Georgetown Road, Princeton, N.J. 08540.