John M. Byrne

John Maria Byrne of Centreville, MD died at the Corsica Hills Nursing Center, Centreville, MD on Monday, March 28, 2011. He was 92. Born December 25, 1918 in West Orange, NJ, he was the son of the late Thomas Stephen and Catherine Rogers Byrne. In addition to his parents and his wife, Willamina, John was pre-deceased by two brothers, Joseph and Thomas Byrne, his sisters, Mary Byrne, a member of the Sisters of Charity, Catherine Brewster, Mildred Kinloch and Elizabeth Welsh. He leaves his son, John S. Byrne of Centreville, MD and daughter, Patricia L. Kearns and her partner, Janet Ross of Naples, FL; two grandchildren; Jennifer Kearns Ruppert and her husband, John, of Stevensville, MD and Michael R. Kearns of Cleveland, OH and four great-grandchildren, Rebecca (Becky), Margaret (Matti), David and John (Johnny) Ruppert. He was an honorary grandfather to Jessica Anne Ross of Daytona Beach, FL. The extended Byrne family, originating in New Jersey following immigration from Ireland, includes multiple generations of nieces and nephews and their families who loved and respected John as the family patriarch of the large Byrne family. Mr. Byrne was a graduate of Seton Hall Preparatory School and Seton Hall University, where he played baseball, a sport that was his passion throughout his life and he was a loyal Yankees fan. His own aspiration to play professional baseball was interrupted when he volunteered for military service. He married Williamina (Billie) Krull in Louisville, KY in 1943, while he was an officer serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Captain Byrne was honorably discharged from the Army at the end of the war and he followed in his father’s footsteps to work at the Hansen Van Winkle Munning Company in Matawan, NJ. When he moved his young family to the New Jersey seashore town of Belmar, he embraced his love of teaching and taught in the Millstone Township, Spring Lake and Oceanport, NJ, school systems until he retired in 1980. He and his son, John, were regular summer employees of Martin’s Department Store in Lavalette, NJ during the 1960’s. Following a full retirement, John and Billie resided in Wall Township, NJ. They were faithful communicants of St. Rose Roman Catholic Church of Belmar, NJ for over 40 years. When health issues rose for the couple, they moved to Maryland in 1999 to be with family in Chester and Stevensville. Later, they resided together at Corsica Hills, where they were known as the “love birds.” A Requiem Mass will be celebrated at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church, Centreville, MD on Monday, April 4, 2011 at 11:00. Family and friends are encouraged to gather at the Church at 10:00 am. Burial will follow immediately in the family gravesite at St. Peter’s Catholic Church Cemetery, Queenstown, MD. Memorial donations may be made to Seton Hall University (www.shu.edu), to the attention of Pamela Ferguson, 457 Centre Street, South Orange, NJ 07079 or to the Sisters of Charity (www.scnj.org), Convent Station, NJ or to Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church (www.sorrowsparish.org), 303 Chesterfield Avenue, Centreville, MD 21617. Arrangements are by the Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, P. A., Centreville, MD.

John M. Byrne

December 25, 1918 - March 28, 2011