Byron B. Speer, Sr

Graveside services for Byron Brantley Speer, Sr. will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 7, 2017, at Salem Cemetery in Athens, Louisiana with Ben Rushing, Jr. officiating. The family will receive friends from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday, January 6, 2017, and Saturday, January 7, 2017, from 8 a.m. until 10:00 a.m.at Kilpatrick's Rose-Neath Funeral Home in Shreveport, LA. Byron, 81years of age, passed away, Thursday, December 29, 2016, at Montclair Park Assisted Living and Memory Care Center in Shreveport, LA. Byron was born June 8, 1935, to the late Geddis Brantley Speer and Willie Belle Holley Speer in Athens, LA. He met his wife, Carolyn, in 1953 and then was married in 1957. Byron served in the National Guard from 1952 until 1969 and retired as a 1st Sergeant. He worked at Placid Oil Company-Black Lake unit from 1963 until his retirement in 1993. Byron loved motorcycles since owning his first in 1952. He spent many hours working on motorcycles at his home-based shop, and enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson all over the U.S. with Carolyn and friends. He spent many Sundays with his son, Brant, at motorcycle tracks coaching him in to winning countless trophies. Byron was a devoted son, husband, father, and grandfather to his family. Byron is preceded in death by his parents, wife of 54 years, Carolyn Patton Speer, and his sister, Betty Jean Speer Miller. Those left to cherish his memory are his son, Byron Brantley "Brant" Speer, Jr. of Shreveport, LA and his wife Lorie Tate Speer of Natchitoches, LA; his daughter, Carol Juliane "Juli" Speer Maggio of Colorado Springs, CO; four grandchildren, Laura Maggio DeLoach and husband, Joshua, Meredith Speer Meyers and husband, Aaron, Ben Speer and wife, Jessica, and Katie Maggio; and two great-grandchildren; Preslee, and Cash. The family would like to express their deep and sincere gratitude to Dr. Abdehou and the nurses and staff at Montclair Assisted Living and Memory Care, as well as the staff of Amedisys Home Health and Hospice for their kind and compassionate care during the time of Byron's illness. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the MDS Foundation (Myelodysplastic Syndromes).