Byrd Lee Minter Jr.

Funeral services for Byrd Lee Minter, Jr., 83 of Monroe, LA will be held at 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, February 14, 2016 at First Assembly of God in West Monroe, Louisiana under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home with Pastor Shane Warren officiating. Visitation will be held from 3:00 P.M. until service time on Sunday. A Friends & Family Fellowship will immediately follow the service in the fellowship hall.Interment will be at Prairie View Cemetery in Aransas Pass, Texas under the direction of Charlie Marshall Funeral Home on Saturday, February 20, 2016. Visitation at the Charlie Marshall Funeral Home will be from 11:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. with a memorial service at 2:00 P.M. Byrd was born May 8, 1932 and passed from this life on February 4, 2016. As a boy, Byrd began working as a deck hand for his father’s deep-sea fishing charters and rowing duck hunters to the family-owned duck blinds for 50 cents. After graduating from Southwestern Assemblies of God High School and College in Waxahachie, TX, Byrd served his country with the U.S. Coast Guard based out of Anchorage, Alaska during the Korean War. Upon leaving the service, Byrd attended and graduated from Texas A&I in Kingsville, TX with a Petroleum Engineering degree which led him to a working career with Southern Union Gas in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Dallas, Texas then to North Carolina Gas Company of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and then to Ford, Bacon & Davis in Monroe, Louisiana. Leaving the corporate world in 1979, he ventured into entrepreneurial endeavors which returned him to what he loved; the water. Byrd and Jonell bought a boat marina, Buckeye Landing, on Toledo Bend, near Many, LA. Then, in his retirement years, Byrd worked as a consulting engineer to numerous surrounding municipalities and owned a small service business, LitterVac of Monroe. He enjoyed connecting with people through church, family, friends and his involvements with local political and public groups. Those who knew Byrd, also known as “Mr. B”, knew he was always looking for an ear to bend, whether to brag of his 32-point, 267 point typical mule deer that landed him in “the book” – Boone and Crockett, or to tell of his days as a deck-hand on his father’s boat serving Vice President LBJ, movie stars, and foreign diplomats. He was introduced and proclaimed by The News Star as a watchdog of local politics often writing letters to the editor and speaking before the City Council and Police Jury where he always stood on his principles.Byrd was preceded in death by his mother, Lena Lucile Richerson; his father, Byrd Lee Minter, Sr.; and his brother, Garland E. Minter. Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Jonell Dierlam Minter; four sons, Randy Minter and wife, Paula, Mike Minter and wife, Virginia, Darryl Minter and wife, Donna, Joel Minter and wife, Alicia; grandchildren, (Randy’s) Trever Minter and wife, Jen, Tracey Hinton and husband, Jack, (Mike’s) Chris Taylor and wife, Angie, Cindy Williams and husband, Donnie, Scott Taylor, Marc Minter and wife, Cassidy, Thomas Minter and wife, Annelise, Eric Minter, Maria McMillan and husband, Chance, Trisha Stroud and husband, Danny, Joseph Minter, Becky Minter, Debi Minter, (Darryl’s) Chase Minter and wife, Rebecca, Daralyn Pepmiller and husband, James, (Joel’s) Ben Minter and wife, Jessica, Rachel Minter, and Sarah Minter; and 15 great grandchildren with two more on the way. In Lieu of Flowers, donations can be made to the building construction fund of First Assembly of God, 715 Cypress Street, West Monroe, 71291. The family would like to give their heartfelt appreciation to The Oaks nursing home staff and aids, especially to those who went above and beyond their duties, with special thanks to Leroy.