"Whoa, take\er easy there Pilgrim." -John Wayne
Think for a moment the theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.........John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Jerry Lewis.......ok, this combination would describe the character we knew as DAD and grandpa.
Byron said it simply, "If you are going to die, then die happy." We think he did just that.
He was easy-going, soft-spoken but had a larger-than-life personality. He was who he was and made no fuss about it. Byron was truly a unique soul who made friends easily and made everyone feel welcome. He had a strong work ethic, a big heart and a lot of love, a great sense of humor and a sarcastic streak he made sure he passed to progeny.
Byron married Barbara L. Reese and together they had 3 children. The couple later sought a temple marriage in the Salt Lake LDS Temple, where they were sealed to their children. In the future the couple did divorce, neither remarried.
The man was military to the end. He joined the Marine Corp at age 19, training in San Diego with Platoon 280, and serving 9 years in the reserves. It is fitting he be sent off with military honors.
Byron loved spending time with family and friends. His classic western music truly made a mark in family memories, as well as his dad jokes. He loved the deer hunt and camping. He watched westerns, comedies and war movies. He was born with a shotgun in his hand and developed a love for discussing politics. (Safety first, we are glad he never combined the two.) His hoard of "man tools" could fix anything and he enjoyed building things and doing projects. He liked golfing, bowling, helping others, and family game time. He loved his slippers, his mom\s homemade German chocolate cake and bragging about all of his grandchildren.
You needed advice?.... then this man had a simple (usually humorous) and profound saying to help you. Say you need a swimming suit on short notice, all you would need is two band-aids and a cork to get you through. Dating advice? With a huge smile on his face and a chuckle under his breath he would advise his daughters he would gladly meet their dates at the door with a shotgun in hand.
With a "How do you do, my name is Sue!"..... Sunset is a given,..... off he has gone in his vintage saddle coat-duster, his black Stetson in a downward pitch and a swaggered hitch in his giddy-up. Gun at his side, dad has saddled up and will tell you his life is not yet complete, as he has to meet up with his long time hero "Duke" for dusty day of herding cats and playing cards.
Byron is survived by his children, Kristine (Geoffrey) Simeona, Buffy (Roger) Burns, Teresa (Gregory) Banyai, and Annessa (Chad) Penman. His grandchildren, Andrew, Sierra, Sammi, Griffen, Derek, Haley, Casey, Robby, Michael, Thomas (Dana), Mathew, Kirsten. Great grandchildren, Murphy and Finnegan. He is also survived by sister Cathy (Leon) Nason. Preceded in death by his parents, John A. and Thurley A. (Pitts,Young) Fredricksen.
Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 6, 2018 at Larkin Sunset Gardens, 1950 East Dimple Dell Road (10600 South) in Sandy. A visitation will be held one hour prior to the services.
