Jay Byers

Jay D. Byers, age 81, of Chambersburg, passed on to be with the Lord on Sunday April 8, 2012 in Lutheran Hospice care after a brief illness. Born September 10, 1930, he was a son of the late Bruce B. Byers and Blanche H. Byers of Chambersburg. A 1950 graduate of the Chambersburg Area Senior High School, he also graduated from the Hagerstown Technical Institute in electronics. A United States Navy veteran of the Korean Conflict, he served from 1950-1954 aboard the U.S.S. Leyte as a Radar Technician. He worked at Letterkenny Army Depot, D.E.S.C.O.M., for thirty years as a program analyst and gave many briefings. He retired in 1980, only to begin a second career in Real Estate as co-owner/founder of RE/MAX Realty in Chambersburg. Jay retired in 1995 to travel and spend winters in Sarasota, FL. He also enjoyed hunting in Horse Valley with his family. Jay pitched fast pitch softball for many years with great success for the VFW and the Chambersburg First Church of God teams. In his later years, he enjoyed going to his sons’ and grandsons’ baseball games. He served his church (Chambersburg First Church of God) in many ways; as Sunday School Superintendent, President of the Deacons and Building Committee Chairman for both the sanctuary and educational facility at the 339 Lincoln Way East location, Senior Choir member, leader of the Men’s Chorus, and as a Board member for many years. He was a member of George Washington Lodge #143 F &AM for over fifty years, and was a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Harrisburg and the South Penn Scottish Rite Club.

Surviving are his wife of fifty-four years, Nancy J. Byers; two sons and a daughter, Jay D. Byers, Jr., his wife Tara, and their children Jim and Andrew Byers, Jerry E. Byers, his wife Lisa, and their children Rebecca, Brenton, and Bryson Byers, and Beth A. Buffaloe, her husband William, and their children William Jr., Brittany, Brooke, and Blake Buffaloe. He is also survived by three brothers, Robert, William, and Lynn Byers; a sister, Fay E. Anderson; and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Richard and Rev. K. Hull Byers.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 11:00 AM at The Chambersburg First Church of God, with Rev. George Reiser and Rev. Lester Swope officiating. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 from 6:00-8:00 PM at Thomas L. Geisel Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 333 Falling Spring Road, Chambersburg, PA where members of George Washington Lodge #143 F & AM will conduct a Masonic service at 7:00 PM. Friends will also be received one hour prior to the service on Thursday at the church. Interment with military honors by members of the Charles Nitterhouse Post 1599 VFW Honor Guard will be at Parklawns Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in his name to the Chambersburg First Church of God Building Fund, 2230 Grandpoint Road, or to Lutheran Home Care and Hospice, Inc., 2700 Luther Drive, both in Chambersburg, PA 17202.