[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 15, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E260-E261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING I. RAY BYRD

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. H. MORGAN GRIFFITH

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 15, 2022

  Mr. GRIFFITH. Madam Speaker, I rise in honor of I. Ray Byrd, who 
passed away on January 30, 2022. Mr. Byrd was a businessman and 
community leader in Salem, Virginia.
  Mr. Byrd was born on September 1, 1928, in Martinsville, Virginia to 
Daniel Edward and Virgie Holt Byrd. He attended Randolph Macon College 
and finished his education at the Medical College of Virginia with a 
Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. He later went on to spend two years as 
a United States Marine and attained the rank of Captain.
  He and his wife, Nina, moved to Salem, Virginia in 1954. This is 
where he and his dear friend, Ervin Pollard Brooks, founded Brooks-Byrd 
Pharmacy. Brooks-Byrd Pharmacy became an iconic Salem location and is 
still open today. Further, the pharmacy's patrons benefited from the 
kindness of Mr. Byrd. In a throwback to an earlier age, it allowed 
their regular customers to carry accounts forward. This was very 
helpful to many struggling families throughout the years--including 
single-parent households such as mine when I was a kid. The community 
will be forever indebted to Mr. Byrd and Mr. Brooks for their 
dedicated, selfless service.
  Throughout his pharmaceutical career, Mr. Byrd also served as a 
pharmacist at the Bradley Free Clinic, Richfield Pharmacy, and the VA 
Hospital. He was also a member of the Roanoke Valley Pharmaceutical and 
the Virginia Pharmaceutical Associations.
  Beyond his professional endeavors, Mr. Byrd devotedly volunteered and 
worked to improve his community. He served in the Salem Kiwanis Club, 
Salem Chamber of Commerce, Salem Museum, Salem Sports Foundation, and 
the Salem Industrial Authority. For five years he served as the 
chairman of the City of Salem School Board. Mr. Byrd especially valued 
faith and family. He was an active member and trustee of the Salem 
Baptist Church.
  Mr. Byrd's survivors include his wife, Nina Byrd; his children, Dr. 
Carol Byrd and her husband, I. Ray Byrd, Jr. and his wife, Mary 
Catherine Ruskan, and Laura Byrd Earle and her husband; his 
grandchildren, Bradley Barr, Dr. Ann Cameron Barr and her husband, Dr. 
Andrew Barr and his wife, Nicholas Byrd and his

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wife, Alison Byrd Walker and her husband, Caroline Byrd Heflin and her 
husband, Matthew Ruskan, Catherine Ruskan, Nina Earle, Samuel Earle, 
and Hank Earle; and great-grandchildren Alicia Byrd, Cecilia Byrd, 
Smith Barr, Ellis Barr, and Sophia Walker. I offer them my condolences 
on their loss.

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