Mitzi Dyan Byrd, 57, of Amarillo, gained her well-deserved angel wings on Sunday, November 17, 2024, after an extremely brief diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the lung. Mitzi was born in Hutchinson County, on August 14, 1967, to Teresa and Roy Dale Byrd and was welcomed home by her big brother, Baxter.
A Memorial Service celebrating Mitzi’s life will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, November 23, 2024, at Lighthouse Funeral Home, 3707 Wolflin Ave., Amarillo. Please wear your Denver Bronco or UT apparel to the service to honor Mitzi’s memory.
Raised in Dumas Texas, Mitzi enjoyed playing sports, especially softball. Mitzi traveled to London and loved seeing the sights. Mitzi went on to West Texas State University (now WTAMU) to continue her education.
Mitzi became a huge Denver Bronco fan while living in Denver Colorado as caretaker for her brother. It is believed by many that she viewed every game played. She was a UT football fan even while living in Oklahoma, just down from the home of OU. She proudly wore the UT burnt orange and white. She loved it when OU lost a game and could point out that to her employees and guests.
Mitzi spent her career in fast food management. She was always willing to help anyone she could to learn the right way to do something. The ugliest, most brutal shifts would fly by when Mitzi was around. With her dry sense of humor, she could make the ugly go away. That dry sense of humor was famous amongst the crews, but sparkling blue eyes always gave away what she was thinking. Even the employees Mitzi had to fire still loved her.
Mitzi lost her mother at a young age and spent the remainder of her adolescent life with her aunt and family. The loss of her mother affected Mitzi dramatically. She never got over the loss. She lost her big brother Baxter, adding to her pain as she took care of him until his passing. Her sister Shawnann passed, making Mitzi realize just how short and precious life is. She lost her father December 2022. Even though her immediate family was gone, Mitzi was never alone. She has many aunts and uncles, cousins and friends everywhere she has been.
One of the greatest blessings Mitzi completed was getting sober four years ago, after drinking since the time of her mother’s death. Her dad was so proud of her. She was very proud of herself as well. It was a hard journey, but she came out on the other side.
Mitzi is survived by a host of extended family; aunts, uncles, cousins, her best friend of twenty plus years, Vickie Gilliam Self, her friend and sponsor, Angela Anderson, two extremely spoiled French bulldogs, Hatchi and Dutton. Those boys were her joy. She also had three cats, Midnight, Dree (short for Boundary,) and Nico.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to My Next Step, the outpatient rehab that changed her life, or Gracie’s Project, for Mitzi’s love for animals which never changed.
My prayers, May the Lord give comfort to all. Love Aunt Carolyn
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I was blessed to meet Mitzi because she was my downstairs neighbor. She was such a great friend and she was a great storyteller. I laughed a lot when I was with her. She was so generous, and she did not want me to know this, but due to technology, it was revealed, and she probably wouldn’t want me telling this now, but it is worth sharing. she signed up for classes with Bonb City K9 Training and I was so excited to think about putting my Service dog through their training and she made a donation to the phones which was very generous and I could not have done the classes without her help and when I thanked her, she said oh no, you were not supposed to find out and anyone who knows Mitzi knows that’s the type of person. She was lots of love and prayers for everyone who is missing her now
God bless the memory of Mitzi. I grew up playing softball with her, which included regular season on Powell Abstract team, and also All-Star championship games in Weatherford, TX. Mitzi was an excellent player in her usual position of catcher, and I was always a better pitcher when she was my catcher. She could also hit that ball way into the outfield when it was her turn to bat. I was with her on that trip to Europe. We went to London, Paris, Belgium, Amsterdam, rode bicycles just over the border to Germany. We had a great group and it was some great memories. I do have a few photos. In adulthood Mitzi and I had lost touch over the years, but we kept up with each other on FaceBook. She was a special lady, and I will keep her family in my prayers. My heart aches for her loss. I had the honor of knowing her mother before she passed away.
The memories from high school and being roommates at college, will forever be in my heart. I’m so thankful God placed you in my life. I know your mom, dad, Baxter, and Shawnann jumped for joy when you arrived through those pearly gates. I will miss you so much my friend…until we meet again.