Obituary of Gerard J. Byrne

Gerard J. Byrne, 77 years of Peabody formerly of Revere, husband of the late Mary B. (Hayes) Byrne died Sunday in Massachusetts General Hospital after a brief illness. Mr. Byrne was born May 22, 1925 in Boston son of the late Michael and Frances (Rogers) Byrne. He was raised and educated in Roxbury. During WWII he served in the U.S. Navy as a Seaman 2nd class aboard the U.S.S. Cepheus and crossed the international dateline on March 2, 1945. He was a member of the Ancient Order of the Date Line. After WWII he was employed for 18 years as a truck driver for the Whitings Milk Co. in Charlestown until it’ s closing. He then was employed for 27 years as a stationary fireman at the A. W. Chesterton Co. in Woburn retiring in 1992 as a supervisor. After his retirement he lived to travel and enjoyed playing cards at the Peter A. Torigian Community Life Center in Peabody. He is survived by his former wife, Lorraine M. (Bell) Byrne of Revere; two sons and their wives, Michael and Marie Byrne of Peabody, Gerard Jed and Dianne Byrne of Woburn; four daughters and three sons-in-law, Elizabeth Beth and Joseph Denish of Peabody, Diane DeDe and Robert Bell of Concord, NH, Donna and Robert Griffin of Revere and Theresa Byrne of Woburn; 18 grandchildren, 6 nephews and a niece. He was also the father of the late William DeLeire and brother of the late James Byrne. His funeral will be held Thursday at 10 a.m. from the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home at the 20 Church St., Peabody location followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. in St. John the Baptist Church, Peabody. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited. Visiting hours Wednesday 5 - 8 p.m. Burial in Puritan Lawn Memorial Park, Peabody.