[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 177 (Thursday, November 20, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          DANIEL WILLIAM BYRNE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN T. DOOLITTLE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 19, 2008

  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Speaker, on October 5, 2008, Daniel William 
Byrne passed away at his home in Tulelake, CA with his wife, Geri, and 
his family at his side. Dan was one of the finest stewards of our great 
natural resources that I have ever known, and his contributions to 
northern California's agricultural community will be sorely missed.
  Dan was born on Sept. 19, 1954, in Klamath Falls, Ore., to Robert A. 
Byrne and Elizabeth (Betty Lou) Byrne (Dalton) Shirley. He attended 
Newell Elementary School and graduated from Bellarmine College Prep in 
San Jose in 1972, then earned his Bachelor of Science degree in farm 
management from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis 
Obispo in 1977. While at Cal Poly, he met his future wife and partner, 
Geri Bielar, whom he married in 1978.
  Dan returned home after graduation and operated the family ranch with 
his father and his brothers. He demonstrated remarkable intelligence 
and earned respect as a rancher who took great pride in running cattle 
while also working in partnerships to improve stewardship of the land. 
He and his brother, Mike, were awarded the Society for Range Management 
California Section Award in Excellence in Range Management in 1968 as 
well as the conservation award from the Klamath Soil and Water 
Conservation District and the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair Farmer and 
Rancher of the Year Award, both in 2007. Dan was also given the 
California Farm Bureau Federation Distinguished Service Award in 2008. 
Dan was a good friend and a fine man.
  His loved ones were an integral part of his life and his work, and I 
wish to offer my condolences to the entire Byrne family. Dan is 
survived by his wife, Geri, of Tulelake; sister, Elizabeth Flynn, of 
Danville, Calif., and her sons, Michael and Thomas; a brother, Bob, and 
his wife, Cory, of Tulelake and their daughters, Melissa, Gwen and 
Katelyn; a brother, Mike, and his wife, Bev, of Tulelake, and their 
son, Matt, and their daughter, Brianna; a sister, Pat Byrne, of Lodi, 
Calif.; his stepfather, Bob Shirley, of Chico, Calif.; and his mother-
in-law, Joan Bielar, of Rocklin, Calif.

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