(Originally posted to social media on September 26, 2022)
A good friend just sent a message letting me know that L. E. Byrum has passed away.
I have not had any contact with L.E. since I retired 8 years ago. There was a time when he and I were very good friends. Any staff members who worked at Brady Saunders in the past 35 years will remember L.E.
He was a walking talking ball of personality and positivity walking upon the earth. He was a huge supporter of the Ranger’s Challenge program at camp and he supported me in many different ways. He filled every room that he entered and he never met a stranger. He was one of those guys who would start up a conversation with anyone along the way. He was the guy who supplied the camp with food each season (Mazo-Lerch). He was a huge help to our kitchen staff as they planned the weekly menus. He and I hunted together and he allowed me private access to his property in Powhatan County. L.E. used to enjoy conducting deer drives where he would walk through vast pieces of property spooking deer out ahead of him. Sometimes he had a dog with him but mostly it was just one man whooping through the woods. Back in the day, he had converted his old barn into a first-class hunting camp and he had a number of cronies who could always be found hanging out. He would grill pork chops and shrimp and steaks and there was always cold beer and soft drinks. Just kidding, there were no soft drinks.
L.E. would give you the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it. He had a very generous nature. He loved to make people happy. Sometimes he would show up at camp with a bushel of crabs and a bushel of corn, just for the staff. His wife and my wife became good friends over the years and they would take long walks in the woods.
I remember that there was a time when Alf Tuggle, the supreme chief of the fire wanted to do some dove hunting. We put him in touch with L.E. and it came to pass that L.E. set him up in a prime field all to himself. He made sure there were plenty of shells and snacks and drinks and he left for the afternoon. Alf never even got to pull the trigger before the game warden showed up and asked him what he was doing on private property. Alf could not remember L.E.s last name. He described him as the Mazo Lerch guy. My big boss was going to jail for many years and he could lose his guns and he would probably be made to pound big rocks into little rocks. But at some point L.E. happened to swing back through and everything got straightened out. Everybody knew L.E.
I am very sad to hear that he is gone. He was a rare breed of man. He loved the ocean and he loved to set nets and catch a variety of saltwater fish. I had heard that he had gone into some sort of care facility in the last couple of years. That had to be tough on a man who was used to going full speed out into the world. I will never forget the many memories that I have of a man that I will always call a friend.
(Copyright by John Hankins; all rights reserved. Published here by permission of the author.)
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