Funeral services for Edward L. "Eddie" Byre, 87, of Reliance, SD will be 10:00 am Wednesday, September 19, 2018 at the Zion Lutheran Church in Chamberlain with burial in the Riverview Cemetery at Chamberlain.   Visitation will be Tuesday beginning at 5:00 pm with a prayer service at 7:00 pm at the Zion Lutheran Church in Chamberlain.

Ed passed away on September 9, 2018 at his home in Reliance.

Edward L. "Eddie" Byre was born February 27, 1931 on his grandparents homestead north of Kennebec to John and Emily (Werner) Byre.  He attended school at Iron Nation, until the family moved south of Reliance on the White River where he lived until the time of his death.  He attended rural school and graduated from Reliance High School. He then attended two years of college before enlisting in the U.S. Coast Guard on August 18, 1952 where his love of flying excelled - flying helicopters.  He was Honorably Discharged on September 5, 1956 and returned home to marry Deanna Wolcott on May 17, 1957.  To this union three sons were born Wayde, Brad, and Dana.   Eddie continued flying as a crop duster.  He was a member of the Flying Farmers Association and taught many people to fly.  Ed's dream was to become a commercial airline pilot but his family came first.  He even flew Governor Herseth and many other people. He also ground hay, farmed and ranched for many years.  Ed owned the Far West River Boat from 1987 to 1994.  Ed also enjoyed watching Twins Baseball and the last five years enjoyed miniature golf, yes miniature golf, and he was pretty good at it while vacationing on Lake Okeboji with Dana and Faye.

Grateful for sharing his life are his sons Brad and Dana (Faye); granddaughter Chelsie; great grandchildren Memphis and Izzi; siblings Elton (Jody) Byre, JoAnn Porterfield, and Jean (Lee) Anderson; sister-in-law Gail Byre; daughter-in-law Beth Byre; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.  Preceding him in death were his parents John and Emily Byre; son Wayde Byre; grandson Devon Byre; brother Dale Byre; and brother-in-law Art Porterfield.