James J. Byrne
James J. Byrne, 73, of Dingmans Ferry, recently from Foster City, Cali. died on July 10, 2015.
Born in Wenatchee, Wash. on May 28, 1942 to Edward V. Byrne and Billie Garrison Byrne. He grew up in Ephrata, Wash. and graduated from Ephrata High School in 1961.
After graduation from high school moved to the Tri-Cities and attended Columbia Basin College. Upon moving to the Tri Cities he met and married his wife, Leslie Hutchinson and had two children.
He then moved his young family to Eastern Washington State University, in Cheney, where he received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Biology. After graduation in 1971, he made an even bigger move, to East Lansing, MI, to attend Michigan State University, where he received his PhD in Physiology in 1974.
Jim then took a post doctorial position at Columbia University in New York City, and moved his family to New Jersey. Upon completion of his post doc, he took an Assistant Professor position at Fordham University where he taught for many years. During this time, Jim was major advisor for three PhD's and numerous masters students, and was once again blessed with another child.
After Fordham, Jim went on to do research spending several years at SUNY Downstate. In 1996 he was offered an opportunity by a long time colleague from Columbia to join a start up biotech firm in Northern California. So back to the west coast Jim went.
After the biotech company was sold, Jim continued working in biotech research and regulatory affairs and consulting. In addition to authoring numerous scientific publications throughout the years, Jim spent many enjoyable hours doing a multitude of things that he enjoyed. Among them he loved, gardening, going to the ocean, swimming, visiting museums and National parks. Anything that had to do with nature made him very happy. He loved classic cars and his dogs and spending time with his family above all.
Jim is survived by his wife, Leslie Byrne, his children, Kimberely Byrne, of Dingmans Ferry, Richard Byrne, of Dingmans Ferry, and his daughter Katherine Leverich and her husband Steve, also of Dingmans Ferry, his six grandchildren, Colleen Kitchen, Kathleen Kitchen, Brendan Kitchen, Ciara NiChinneide, William Leverich and Ryan Leverich, his brothers and sisters, Edward and Beth Byrne, Tom and Judy Byrne, Mary and Mike Dolan, Janet Byrne Dudley, and Pat and Malou Byrne, sister-in-law, Janice Hutchinson May and brother and sister in-law, Dean and Pat Hutchinson and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was predeceased in death by his parents Edward and Billie Byrne, and his brother Joseph Byrne and his infant son John Byrne.
Funeral mass was held on Friday, July 31 at St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church in Milford.