- Date Of Birth: June 29, 1921
- Date Of Death: April 1, 2015
- State: New Jersey
Thomas C. Byrnes (Tom) USMC 4th Division Passed peacefully at home on April 1, 2015, surrounded by his family. Tom was originally from Brooklyn NY, and relocated to Bayville NJ in December of 2010. He was pre-deceased by his first wife, Agnes, “Pat,” (nee O’Brien) in 1959, and his second wife Elizabeth, “Betty,” (nee Bennett) in 1996, his sister Margaret and his brother John, “Jack,” USMC, Tom has 2 surviving siblings Helen and James.
Tom is survived by two sons and a daughter Peggy Byrnes with whom he lived, loved, and was best friends with, and her partner Keith. Tom is also survived by his granddaughters, Jaime Ann Poggioli and her partner Lisa Vargas, of Bayville NJ and Lisa Marie Galizia and her husband Michael Galizia, of Staten Island New York, and his Great Grandchildren who were the light of his life, TaylorMarie Elizabeth, Joseph Thomas, Gianna Marie, Michael Alexander, Abigail Rose, Emma Elizabeth, and Lilyanna Nicole. Tom was above all a Marine. He served in the 4th Marine Division 1942 to 1945. He fought at Saipan, and the Marshall Islands, and was an Iwo Jima Survivor. Tom lived a storied life, from Brooklyn to Buffalo New York.
In Buffalo, he was a Police officer in the town of Tonawanda, and owned an ice Cream parlor, named Lyons Ice Cream Parlor (where he insists he invented cinnamon ice cream). He moved his family to Arizona, where he was a milk man, insurance salesman, and construction worker. Tom loved to travel, visiting places like Hawaii, England, Ireland, Canada, France, Gibraltar, and Colorado, white water rafted the Snake River. Tom was a family man. He especially enjoyed time with his family, eating and having an occasional cocktail (or 2). He lived 93 full years, his way… and left us when he was ready. He will be missed beyond belief, but we are blessed and thankful for his life, his stories and his love.
