In Memory of Byron
Loyd
1926-2005
Byron and Steve Loyd
It was a sunny October morning in
2005 when Byron Loyd came to say goodbye. His visits to Loyd's Aviation - the
business he founded 40+ years ago and helped nurture even after retiring -
had tapered off in recent years as he battled cancer.
But on that particularly warm
fall day at Meadows Field, Byron went around and talked to all of us as usual,
he said, "You guys are doing a good job and keep the ball
rolling."
"Byron was always the
boss anytime he was out here, if you know what I mean," said Jay
Mercer, our chief pilot.
Byron was an entrepreneur at
heart who wasn't afraid to take risks, said son Steve Loyd, who took over
the business when his father retired in 1993.
He was tough but fair with his
workers, Steve said. He was always straightforward, said longtime friend
Glen Stoller, "you never had to guess where Byron was coming
from," Stoller said. "There wasn't a phony bone in that
guy."
He could give the impression
of being a bit "crusty" but was a softie on the inside, said
Nadine, whom Byron married after his first wife, Eleanor, died from cancer
in 1979.
Byron, who taught his son
Steve to fly, stopped taking to the skies - at least by himself - around
1997.
The grandfather still visited
the company and airport he loved at least three times a week while he
could.
Except for a short stint in the
Navy, Byron Loyd lived his entire 79 years in Bakersfield, upon his
discharge from the Navy, Byron returned home to marry his High School
sweetheart, Eleanor Gaylen (Steve's Mother), the daughter of the late Kern
County Sheriff, Le Roy Gaylen. in the late
50's Byron and Eleanor worked together building Loyd's Flying Service
which started out as an Air Ambulance service.
It was tough for him to say
goodbye to Meadows Field, Steve said, "he dedicated a large part of
his life trying to do everything good to help this airport grow,"
Byron watched 12 airport directors come and go during his career,"
Ray Bishop met Byron within days of becoming Kern County's current
airports director a decade age. "He had a lot of suspicion,"
Bishop said. "Everybody had warned me to watch out for Byron Loyd."
But we liked each other from the start. The Loyd family was
instrumental in the airports growth, bringing in important corporate and
commercial business, Bishop said. "We'll miss him a lot, but success
will be part of who we are and what we are."
God Bless you Byron
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