Birth date: May 7, 1940 Death date: Dec 19, 2020
Robert “Bob” Byrnes, 80, of The Villages, peacefully passed away surrounded by his family on Saturday, December 19, 2020. Bob was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on May 7, 1940 to Maurice and Elizabeth (O’Gara) Byrnes. Bob led a full life, Read Obituary
Love you, Dad. Miss you, emensliy.
My sincere condolences Sally on the passing of Bob. I was lucky to speak with him by phone not that long ago and we spoke of the old neighborhood and visiting each other after school back in St. Pascal Baylon days. Sounds like you have a wonderful, large family for support and I wish you all the best. Henry Meudt, Boca Raton, FL
My St. Pascal Baylon classmate has lived a full life and I, being a philosopher, theologian and Christian, believe Robert Byrnes continues to be, and that his post-mortem existence is with God in eternity. I like the lines sung by Hazel Dickens: "We are traveling home, we are traveling home, one by one we are traveling home. Across Death's river our friends have gone and we are following one by one."
Robert Obach, Ph.D.
In The Pines
We were teenagers when I came over one day to Bob's house on Farmer's Boulevard in Queens county, NY. Maybe it was 1956 or '57.
Bob started playing records from his brother's collection. I am pretty sure Bob told me he did not have Larry's permission, so we treated the records with respect. He especially wanted me to hear a country tune, "In The Pines," sung by the Louvin Brothers. I may have already been a fan of the similar sound of Everly Brothers, but the Louvin Brothers performance really knocked my socks off. They were "the real deal." With these guys, you could almost smell the moonshine brewing in the barn.
Bob sang along with them. He seemed to know the words. I was impressed. I don't think The Louvin Brothers ever made it into the folk music scene that raged through NYC a few years later, but for some reason, the record stuck in my mind for decades. I considered Bob pretty prescient, having recognized the unique talents of this little known duo. When I visited Bob in January, I told him about this. He looked at me blankly and said, "the Louvin who"?
Bob, I still think you are a cool guy and, anyway, now you can refresh your memory whenever you want. Just click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWrSg5znyMU
Bob was always smiling! We even got him to go to Disney and wear a Mickey hat all night! We shared many steak dinners and fun times!
