Sarah Byrd

Sarah Miller Byrd, 80, of Tallahassee, FL and formerly of Whigham, GA, passed away Friday, May 20, 2011 at her residence. The funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, May 23, 2011 at Tired Creek Primitive Baptist Church near Whigham, GA with Rev. Thomas W. Kennedy officiating. Interment will follow at Tired Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery with Alan Susky, Robert Stauffer, Destry Burch, Lance Burch, Luke Burch, and Charles Bembry serving as active pallbearers. The family will receive friends immediately following the service in the fellowship hall. Online visitors may sign the guest register at www.iveyfuneral.com . In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Big Bend Hospice, 1723 Mahan Center Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32308. Mrs. Byrd was born April 11, 1931 in Whigham, GA, the daughter of Thomas Edward Miller and Aelon Cutchens Miller. She was a graduate of Whigham High School, Class of 1947, and began a banking career at the age of 16 working in Bainbridge, GA, and retired from Barnett Bank in Tallahassee with over 40 years of service. While gaining promotions at the bank, she worked diligently as a mother instilling values passed down from her father and mother: faith, kindness, honor, and trustworthiness. The golden threads of intelligence, wit, generosity, and old-fashioned southern charm wove the fabric of her success in personal and business relationships. She was known for shattering glass ceilings, being the first Vice President of Tallahassee's Barnett Bank, and helping other women achieve higher positions in companies around Florida. She was active on many boards in Tallahassee, some of which were AmSouth Bank, Tallahassee Symphony, Heart Foundation, Gayfers, Parisians, and was a charter member of the Florida Women's Network. Survivors include her daughters, Tommee Stauffer of Havana, FL and Sallee Burch and her husband, Ron, of Tallahassee, FL; her sister-in-law, Geraldine Miller of Whigham, GA; her grandchildren, Sarah Stauffer, Aelon Susky and her husband, Alan, Richard Johnson, and Destry Burch and his wife, Amy; her great-grandchildren, Reis Susky, Lance Burch, and Lucas Burch. Mrs. Byrd was preceded in death by her husband, Richard A. Byrd and her brother, Thomas Clint Miller.