Dr. Mary Frances Welsh Byrd

1930 - 2021

Dr. Mary Frances Welsh Byrd

January 12, 1930 ~ May 21, 2021

Dr. Mary Frances Welsh Byrd was the first born to Samuel Massey Welsh and Grace Clayton Welsh on January 12, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the last to leave on May 21, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mary Frances (Frances, to some), attended A. O. Sexton elementary school and went on to graduate from Englewood High School in 1948. She received her B.S. degree in Biology from Mundelein College, a private Catholic college for women, in Rogers Park, Illinois in 1952. Mary Frances received her M.A. in Educational Administration from Xavier University , Cincinnati, Ohio in 1957 and her Doctorate in Education from the University of California, Berkeley in 1972.

She married Theodore Robert Byrd in 1953 and gave birth to her daughter, Toni Lynn in 1954. Her marriage took her from Chicago to Cincinnati, Ohio and subsequently to San Francisco, California in 1958 where she began teaching with the San Francisco Unified School District. Her marriage to Ted Byrd would end, but she would remain in the Bay Area and go on to serve as an educator and administrator with the district for 43 1/2 years. She held many positions with the district including Department Head of Science at Lowell High School, Assistant Principal at Samuel Gompers High School, Program Manager for Special Funded Programs, Area Superintendent for Areas IV and III, and Coordinator for Human Resource Services. She retired as the Program Director for State and Federal Projects in 2001. In 2010 she moved to Salt Lake City to be close to her daughter.

Among the many educational memberships she held were the National Women in Education Honor Society and the United Administrators of San Francisco, Emeritus. She received many recognitions, School Master of the Year being one of her favorites.

Her heart and soul belonged to her beloved sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, Incorporated (a national service organization). She became a member in 1949 and remained an active member for 75 years, the later years as a Delta Dear.

Another love was football and her San Francisco 49er's!

She outlived her siblings, Kurt Welsh and Grace Greenlee. She leaves behind her daughter Toni Lynn Byrd, her niece Bonnita Waree Greenlee, her cousins Dorecell Batch, Shana Jones, Paul and Earlayna Batch.