George H. Byrne

George H. Byrne
of Lowell

This is the story of George H. Byrne a kind, remarkable soul who lived a beautiful life. His greatest adventure began on December 5. He was surrounded by loving family and friends when he passed away at Lowell General Hospital.

A graduate of Saint Mary's in Lynn, George was an outstanding athlete. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the Airforce where he further embraced his love of dogs by becoming a K9 handler. He was a graduate of Northeastern University and was employed as a security engineer at both Honeywell and MITRE where he created lasting and wonderful friendships with many. To date his favorite job, was baby wrangler to his 3-year-old grandson, Matthew.

He loved history particularly Winston Churchill, and enjoyed recounting stories and quoting his favorite Brit. He loved traveling particularly with his travel buddy, his wife Marion. His love of history often guided his travels; his most poignant and memorable trip was to Normandy where he gathered many rocks from the beach and distributed them to special friends.

He was an avid sailor who often shared his love of the ocean with friends and family and had several favorite first mates- one of whom shares his name. He enjoyed walking both recreationally and for charitable organizations often accompanied by his friend and side kick "Tink". Occasionally, his walking expeditions unwittingly resulted in their becoming lost but would none the less resulted in great stories. His favorite walking partner was his beloved Airedale, Cordy.

George had an irreverent sense of humor with a distinctive and contagious laugh and loved the occasional "dance party" with his grandson, Matthew. A talented amateur artist himself, he encouraged Matthew's love of art by allowing Matthew to paint him blue.

More importantly he adored his friends and family. Saturday evenings were often spent at his favorite Italian restaurant with the ones he loved. He was a dedicated and loving husband and he was "bar none", his children would say, the best father anyone could have asked for. He always exemplified a selfless and unwavering support for those he loved, including to his "four-legged children", Cordy and Dooley.

George was pre-deceased by his parents Joseph and Dorothy (Moley) Byrne, and his brothers Ryan (Joseph) and Red (Norman) Byrne. He is survived by his loving wife of 48 years, Marion (Greaves), his children Matthew of Tyngsboro and Kara of Dracut and grandson Matthew as well as his siblings Bob (Dee) Byrne of St. Petersburg, FLA., Dottie Dolan of Andover, and Mary Byrne of Cambridge, along with in-laws Eddie Greaves of Chelmsford, Jane Byrne of Brentwood, NH, and dear friends John and Judy Camelia of Wakefield, and several nieces and nephews.

A proud patriot and U.S. Airforce veteran. He was a man of faith, humility, generosity and love - a simple man with an extraordinary soul. George was a wonderful person, beloved many, and will be dearly missed.

BYRNE - Visiting hours will be at the BLAKE CHELMSFORD FUNERAL HOME, 24 Worthen St., CHELMSFORD on Thursday, December 13, from 4-7PM and a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, December 14, 11 AM, at St. Mary's Church, 25 North Rd., CHELMSFORD. KINDLY MEET AT THE CHURCH. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in George's memory to The Fisher House of Boston; Fisher House of Boston PO Box 230 South Walpole, MA 02071. For directions and online condolences visit CHELMSFORDFUNERALHOME.COM and find us on Facebook.