Obituary for Claude Harold Byington
BYINGTON, Claude Harold, 93, of Brandon, passed away on Thursday, March 28, 2019. Born February 28, 1926 in the coal mining town of Dante, VA, to Emmett and Eula Byington. Claude spoke fondly of his early years there, playing with his brother Curtis and sister Wilma while their dad worked in the coal mines and their mother tried to keep the coal dust out of the house. Claude was in high school when World War II broke out and he enlisted in the Navy right after graduation. He spent most of the war serving on the battleship, USS New Mexico, where he worked a gun turret in the fight in the Pacific. He was at Tokyo Bay when the armistice was signed, a fact of which he was particularly proud. After the war, he worked a variety of jobs, mostly in the transportation industry. He married Ruth Singleton in 1950 and they spent 52 years together before her death. Their children are Diane Byington and David Byington. After taking evening classes for years to earn his college degree, Claude graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1961. In 1966, the family moved to Brandon, FL, where he lived for most of the rest of his life. He was an avid fisherman and golfer, and always did his best to enjoy life to the fullest. He was a deacon and long-time Sunday School teacher at the First Baptist Church of Brandon. He was also member of the Brandon Masonic Lodge for more than fifty years and the Egypt Temple Shrine, Tampa. His popular autobiography, Black Creek (2010, Xlibris) describes his eventful life. After his first wife’s death, he married Kathleen Register in 2003, and they lived happily together until his death from complications from a fall. His parents, Emmitt and Eula Byington, predeceased him, as did his brother, Curtis Byington, and his first wife, Ruth Singleton Byington. He is survived by his sister, Wilma Porter; his wife, Kathleen Byington; his children, Diane Byington (Daniel Booth) and David Byington (Cindi Surridge); grandchildren, Joel (Domenica) Blum and their children, Connor, Alea, and Alex and Taylor Byington (partner Will Jarvis and son Levi); his stepchildren, Kathy Wittmeyer and family and Karen Ferguson and family. A Celebration of Life Service will be held 10:30 A.M. Wednesday, April 3, 2019, at the First Baptist Church of Brandon with the family receiving friends one hour prior to services. Interment will be at the Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell at 2:00 P.M. Memorial contributions may be made to the First Baptist Church Foundation.
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Previous Events
Visitation
Wednesday
3
Apr
9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
First Baptist Church of Brandon
216 North Parsons Avenue
Brandon, FL 33510
Celebration of Life Service
Wednesday
3
Apr
10:30 AM
First Baptist Church of Brandon
216 North Parsons Avenue
Brandon, FL 33510
Graveside
Wednesday
3
Apr
2:00 PM
Florida National Cemetery
6502 S.W. 102nd Avenue
Bushnell, FL 33513
Memorial Contribution
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