Byrne J. Manley II

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(Sept. 18, 1928 - Oct. 9, 2012)

Beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Byrne J. Manley II, of Laurel, Mont., died Oct. 9, 2012, after a brave battle with small cell lung cancer. He was 84.

Born in Lewistown, Mont., on Sept. 18, 1928, Byrne attended schools in Calgary, Canada, and Belfry, Mont., before graduating high school in Powell in 1946. His parents periodically relocated with his father’s vocation as an oil refinery superintendent.

The U.S. Army drafted Byrne during the Korean Conflict in 1951. Based at the Presidio in San Francisco, he was a Military Policeman and escorted troops on U.S. domestic train transfers with the Company “A” 701st MP Battalion. His train travel afforded him the opportunity to meet his future wife, Carole Virginia Harms, while in Los Angeles.

Byrne proposed to Carole after a brief three-month courtship and they were married on June 13, 1953, at the same church where they first met.

Desiring to raise a family in Montana, the couple relocated to Laurel in 1955 where Byrne returned to his oil refining roots to work at the Cenex refinery. After 33 years at the Cenex refinery, Byrne retired in 1988.

Byrne and Carole enjoyed 59 cherished years together and were blessed with two children, Byrne J. Manley III and Doreen Kay Manley. His family will always remember him as a loving husband and reliable provider. There was nothing he couldn’t fix and his sense of humor always made their home brighten with laughter.

He is survived by his wife Carole; daughter Doreen Kay Manley; son Byrne J. Manley III (Kate); grandsons Byrne J. Manley IV (Nissa), Logan James Manley; granddaughter Fallon Manley Loomis (Raymond); great-granddaughters Joey Pierni, Madison Larsen; and great-grandson Raymond Loomis.

Byrne was preceded in death by his mother Marie (Falk) Manley, father Byrne Junius Manley and brother George Floyd “Pete”. Memorials may be made to RiverStone Health Home Care & Hospice Services, 123 S. 27th St., Billings, MT 59101.

Funeral services were held at the Veterans Section of the Laurel City Cemetery on Monday, Oct. 15, with burial at the adjoining Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery.

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