Larry Leroy Byron

Larry Leroy Byron, 78, of Nampa, Idaho, passed away at his home June 1, 2022.

Larry was born January 3, 1944, in LaGrande, Oregon, to Carl Edward and Mildred Pearl (Murchison) Byron, he was the third child in their family of four children. He spent his childhood in LaGrande and recalled having many cousins to play with while they lived there. Later, the family moved to Baker City, Oregon where he attended Junior and Senior High School, graduating in 1962. Larry enjoyed sports and cars and cruised many (fast) miles with his cousin, and best friend, Terry Crater. In 1962, while crashing his sister Caron's slumber party, he met Patricia Pickler. They were married on February 27, 1965, at the First Christian Church in Baker, they spent 55 happy years together.

After they were married, Dad and Mom settled in the Nampa area. They had three children, Deborah, Janne and Greg. In 1971, they were very proud to purchase their own home. They lived in their first home for 32 years, and Dad completed many remodeling projects on their home over the years. He wasn't afraid to take on big projects and was always very resourceful solving problems.

Dad was a hard worker his entire life. Although he was small in stature, he was very strong, and his jobs were physically demanding. He worked as a meat cutter for many grocery stores in the Treasure Valley and for H&H Keim. When he left the meat cutting field, he worked a variety of jobs before joining Hewlett-Packard on the printer assembly line until his retirement. For many years, when his children were young, Dad was proud to be able to support his family so Mom was able to be a stay-at-home mom.

Upon retirement his family kept him very busy, mainly his grandchildren. He was regularly called upon to babysit, both grandpa and the grandchildren loved those times. When he was with the grandchildren, there really weren't any rules.....he did what they wanted. He always found time to spend with them, so it was especially hard on him when they were all finally in school and he didn't get to babysit them as often, but he never said no when he was asked. He also helped Janne with her business and helped Deborah with yardwork, craft projects, and setting up for her craft shows. He was still helping Deborah at her craft shows until November of 2021. Dad also had many adventures and misadventures with Greg.

Dad was a member of Nampa First Christian Church. It was later in life that he started attending church regularly and chose Easter Sunday in 2021 to be baptized, that was a very proud time for him, and for his family.

Doing things as a family was very important to Dad, he loved his family, and he loved family gatherings. When his children were growing up, many weekends were spent either taking his family camping or driving over to Baker to visit extended family. His rigorous work schedule prevented him from attending many of his children's activities, but he always asked us about them when we got home. We always ate dinner as a family, and if we were home for the weekend, we often went for a Sunday drive around the lake or out in the countryside.

Dad and Mom loved to travel in their retirement years, they travelled to many places near and far, but their favorite place of all was the Oregon Coast.

Dad was a simple, yet quiet, gentle man. At family gatherings he would just sit back and listen to all the conversations, simply enjoying the time spent together. He was blessed to have a sweet daughter-in-law, Cindi, who would do anything for him. He loved her, and he loved his sons-in-law, Greg and Frank, as well. He knew he could always count on them when he needed help or just wanted to go for a drive. Dad was always up for an impromptu fishing trip, either with Greg, his grandchildren or his son-in-law, Frank - which usually resulted in quite the "tall fishing tales". He loved the annual "man camp" with the guys, and sweet treats in the house were a must, especially chocolate ice cream and Nutella.

Mom passed away in December 2019, and she is missed every day, but during the last 2 1/2 years we were able to spend very intentional time with Dad, which we found to be a blessing. Dad was fighting many health issues the last few years, but most people would never have known it to look at him or talk to him, as he maintained a positive attitude until he passed away. We were proud to have been able to let him live independently until the end, and it brings us great joy and peace that he is now living pain-free in Heaven, and that he has been reunited with Mom.

Larry is survived by his daughters Deborah (Frank) Leffler, Janne (Greg) Goetz, and son Greg (Cindi) Byron, all of Nampa; grandchildren Alex Byron, Alli (Rylan) Manzer, Cameron Goetz, Mallory Goetz all of Nampa and Jamie Leffler Taylor, Dixon Illinois; brother Norval Byron, LaGrande Oregon; sisters Nancy Polvi and Caron Way of Baker City, Oregon; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Patricia, and his parents Carl and Mildred Byron.

Services will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, June 25, 2022, at the First Christian Church, 619 12th Ave South, Nampa, Idaho. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Larry's name to Nampa First Christian Church or the Nampa St. Luke's Cancer Institute.