Wednesday July 08, 2009

Jim Byrd

Jim Byrd
I got an e-mail yesterday morning that I knew was coming at some point but still was dreading. The e-mail was informing us that Jim Byrd had passed away.

I had only met Mr. Byrd five or six times and to be honest with you I never knew his name was Jim until he got sick. I knew him as Mr. Byrd or Jordan and Jonathan’s dad.

The only times I shared with Mr. Byrd were very pleasant. Not pleasant because of the backdrop of some beautiful golf course in plush condition because of the on-going PGA Tour event, but pleasant because of him and his accommodating personality. My conversations were brief because I knew he had the more important things that required his concentration.

In my conversations with him in Greenville, Augusta or Atlanta, his focus was son Jonathan’s current round at the tour event. To be honest I can’t remember if Mr. Byrd who stayed in front of Jonathan’s group like a forecaddie all of the time or if that was just my imagination. I just remember him being very accommodating to me and other Clemson people who just wanted to know how Jonathan was doing and to wish him luck.

In recent months the attention has been turned away from how Jonathan was doing and more on how Jim was doing.

His oldest son Jordan is assistant golf coach at Clemson. Jordan is one of the top amateur golfers in our state and has qualified several times recently for USGA events. It was at one of these national championships a couple of years ago Mr. Byrd was caddying for Jordan when he felt different. When he returned home the doctor’s news was not good. Mr. Byrd had a brain tumor and it was malignant.

Jordan tells the story of his father’s courage over the last couple of years and you can tell he is proud of his old man. I knew Mr. Byrd was a great athlete but Jordan gave more details of Mr. Byrd’s days in Chapel Hill. He also recently shared how his father’s athleticism shined even when much of his body couldn’t. Jordan was amazed that his father’s illness caused issues with his vision and endurance but he was still able to enjoy hitting golf balls on the range with his sons.

Mr. Byrd was an accomplished amateur golfer who passed the game onto his two boys. Jordan starred at Furman and still does today in our regional and national amateur events. On that sad day when Larry Penley retires as the head golf coach at Clemson, Jordan will be an obvious candidate.

Jonathan was a three-time All-American at Clemson and a three-time winner on the PGA Tour. He was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 2006 and one of the first people I can remember that as a role model despite him being younger than me.

The first time I met Mr. Byrd was at the Nationwide Tour event in Greenville. I was caddying for my friend Rodney Williams, another Clemson Hall of Famer (but not for his golf). Our group had a big gallery because Kevin Costner was in our group and Mr. Byrd was following that day. It was pretty safe to say Mr. Byrd had little interest in Costner. Instead he was focused on Jonathan who had Jordan as his caddy for the week.

Imagine watching your sons walk the fairways together at the event and later watching them win. How proud he must have been. How many fathers have gotten to experience this kind of pride?

This week we have spent a lot of time and energy following the stories of Michael Jackson and Steve McNair’s deaths. Yet, in Jim Byrd we have a great example of fatherhood that will receive much less attention.

Maybe some of our Hollywood stars or professional athletes could have used Mr. Byrd as a role model. Spend time with your kids. Introduce them to a hobby or sport. Teach them the lessons that fathers pass along to sons and daughters. Give them guidance. Support their successes and their failures. Simple values of faith were remembered too.

I did not know Mr. Byrd well but I am privileged to know Jordan and Jonathan and feel like I know him because of what he passed along. We shared mutual friends who speak of a very kind gentleman. Friends of Mr. Byrd speak of his integrity and I see it in his sons. They speak of his work ethic and friends see it in his boys. They recall character and integrity and there is no better example of both than in Jordan and Jonathan.

So on Friday Mr. Byrd will be laid to rest. Cancer cannot tax him anymore. He will be missed by his friends and family but he leaves behind two Mr. Byrds and I know he is very proud of what he accomplished in raising both. We could all learn from his example.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, William Perry, Delores Weaver, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, the Byrd family, the Dixon family, Chalmers Carr.