John Timothy "Jack" Byrnes

John Timothy “Jack” Byrnes died peacefully at home on December 27, 2023, after a long illness. 

Born in 1931, in Savannah, GA to the late John Timothy Byrnes and Mary Elizabeth Dwan Byrnes, Jack was reared on Tybee Island as the youngest of six children. A veteran of the US Navy, he served aboard the USS Essex during the Korean War. He was a sales representative for Hunt-Wesson Foods for 35 years. 

Jack supported his children’s and grandchildren’s school and extracurricular activities as a longtime volunteer at Nativity Catholic School. 

In addition to his parents, Jack was predeceased by his sisters: Justina O’Hayer Maxey, Mary O’Hayer Handiboe, Julia Byrnes Lingenfelser, and Ann Byrnes White; his brother, Daniel O’Hayer; his brothers-in-law; and several nieces and nephews. 

Survivors include Mary Ann Mikowski Byrnes, his wife of 68 years; his son, John T. Byrnes III; his daughters: Mary Ann Byrnes, Mary Elizabeth Byrnes Trenaman, Patricia Byrnes Blanchard; son-in-law, Regan I. Blanchard; grandchildren: Mary Elizabeth Trenaman, Robert Patrick Trenaman, Patricia Elizabeth Blanchard, and John Regan Blanchard; great-grandson, John Barton Byrnes Davidson, all of Charleston; his sister-in-law, Lurline Rossi; and nieces, nephews, and extended family. 

Jack loved saltwater creeks, good food, sweets of all kinds, his Irish heritage, but especially his wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandson. They will cherish his memory. 

The family wishes to thank Amedisys Home Health, in particular Dan Thornton, RN, for the care and compassion Jack received in his declining years. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Church of the Nativity, 1061 Folly Road, Charleston, SC 29412 or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. 

On Wednesday, January 3, 2024, the family will receive friends and relatives from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at the Church of the Nativity. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by the Reverend S. Thomas Kingsley at 11:30 AM at the Church of the Nativity with the Rite of Committal following at Holy Cross Cemetery, 604 Fort Johnson Road. 

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the McAlister-Smith Funeral and Cremation – James Island, 347 Folly Road, Charleston, SC 29412, 843-614-8494.