George Wallace Byrne III, 81, of Franklin, Kentucky passed away peacefully Thursday, March 12, 2026, at his residence. George was born March 5, 1945, to the late George Wallace Byrne II. and Mildred Birl Byrne. George graduated with the class of 1963 from Princeton Community High School in Princeton, IN where he played basketball for the Tigers. Attending Kentucky Wesleyan College, he continued his basketball career with the KWC Panthers before graduating with a B.A. in Accounting. George returned to Princeton, where he began his career with AMF Potter & Brumfield before being transferred to Gainesville, GA as a Controller where they were also very active in Pinecrest Baptist Church where George served as a deacon and treasurer.
When Siemens bought out the company, he returned to Princeton again before moving to Franklin, KY where George retired in 2000. He and his wife began driving school buses for the Franklin-Simpson school district and became active members of Blackjack Baptist Church. They also loved to travel, especially taking cruises to Alaska, Hawaii, and the Mediterranean. George was a philatelist (collector of stamps) and a numismatist (collector of coins). Most of all, George was a good provider and loved his family deeply and was deeply loved by his family.
In addition to his parents, George also was preceded in death by his stepbrother, Bill Byrne.
Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of 60 years, Joyce Ann Byrne; son, George “Wally” Byrne (Donna) of Evansville; two daughters, Lisa Toole (Kent) of Helena, AL and Stephanie Boyd (Mark) of Owensville, IN; eight grandchildren; Sydney Hull, Isabella Toole, Wyatt Toole, Tori Claywell (Collyn), Talli Hulfachor, Tristen Boyd, Tanner Boyd, Tessa Boyd; six great grandchildren; sister, Linda McKee (Jim); several nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be 2:00pm Tuesday, March 17 at Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory with same day visitation from 11:00 am until 1:30 pm. Burial will follow in Owensboro Memorial Gardens.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to Blackjack Baptist Church, 4197 Blackjack Rd, Franklin, KY 42134.
Condolences and memories for George’s family may be left at www.glenncares.com.