Jeannie Byrd

Delores Jean Byrd "Jeannie" was born to Anita and Lloyd Thompson on November 9, 1942. They lived in Owosso, Michigan but briefly lived in San Fransisco while Lloyd was stationed there during Word War II. After returning to Michigan, Anita and Lloyd had two sons, Phil and Jerry. Jeannie attended school in Owosso until graduating high school. The Thompson family was a cornerstone in their church where Lloyd taught and directed the children's program and regularly sang for services. Jeannie attended John Wesley College (formerly Owosso Bible College - now Baker College) where she met her husband Bill. Jeannie sang in the traveling choral group for the college.

Jeannie and Bill married on June 22,1962 and have two children, Kathy and Bill. Jeannie and Bill raised their family in Owosso where Jeannie worked for a publishing company and served in the church with the children's programs and choir. In 1980, Jeannie and Bill moved to St Petersburg Florida where Jeannie soon began working at Northside Christian School. Their family became members at the Northside Baptist Church and Jeannie served the ministry as an administrative assistant for the principal and later for the music and athletic departments. Jeannie found great joy serving in this role which gave her the chance to travel with the band and choral groups while both her children were attending. Jeannie changed roles in 1987 and moved to the missions department with the church. In this role, Jeannie organized missions trips and prepared logistics for new missionaries. This prepared Jeannie for her next position as the director's assistant with United World Missions. In her position with UWM, she played an integral role in arranging travel for missionaries and ensuring the logistics for complex journeys were all in order. This also gave her the opportunity to travel to Russia for her own missions trip.

UWM took Jeannie and Bill to their North Carolina headquarters but they eventually found their way back to Florida to be with their grandchildren; Kelsey, Luke, Danielle, Alex, and Austin. Jeannie loved her grandchildren and especially enjoyed Christmas when she would have the chance to surround herself with the kids and read the story of the birth of Christ. Jeannie would also later become Great Grandma or better know as "Memaw" to seven great grandchildren; Reed, Oliver, Cody, Emory, Liam, Olivia, and Charlie.

Jeannie was an example to her family and friends, in her walk with Christ. Her thirst for the Word was apparent in how she led her life. She was also known as a prayer warrior, diligently praying for God's will for family, friends, and even strangers while each traveled through the trials of life. On June 22, 2025, Jeannie and Bill celebrated 63 years of marriage.

Jeannie passed away at Baycare Alliant Hospital (Dunedin Florida) on September 26, 2025 with her family at her side and is now in glory with her parents. Jeannie is survived by her husband Bill, daughter Kathy, Son Bill, and brothers Phil and Jerry.