James Byrd Milby

James Byrd Milby Jr, age 87, of Escondido, California, formerly of Caseville, died Sunday, January 12th, 2020 at the Silverado Escondido Memory Care facility in Escondido.
James was born on July 14th, 1932 in Utica to the late James and Mary Milby. After graduating from Utica High, James volunteered for service in the Navy. He was stationed at the US Naval Air Station in Atlantic City and did his service at sea aboard the USS Randolf as part of Air Task Group 181. He met Bernadine Helen Sitar in Atlantic City in 1955 while on leave from the Navy. They were married on April 14, 1956 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Together they moved to Michigan where they settled in Warren and raised their family. James was employed by General Motors as an engineer for Fisher Body where he worked for more than 30 years before retiring in 1988 and moving to Caseville.
During their time in Warren, James and Bernadine were members of the Saint Anne Catholic Church community. Upon moving to Caseville, both James and Bernadine were active members of the St. Felix Catholic Church, Pinnebog. They often helped give out communion on Sundays. James enjoyed camping, taking his family on many trips throughout Michigan and around the country. Later, during retirement, James and Berne would switch between spending their winters in Apache Junction, Arizona and the remainder of the year in their beloved Caseville. James was also an avid golfer and fisherman, who enjoyed piloting his boat along the shores of Lake Huron.
He is survived by his son Mark (Peggy) of Fraser, Gregory (Maria Teresita) of San Marcos, California, and Timothy of Warren; grandchildren Roxanne, Joshua, and James. He was preceded in death by his wife Bernadine, an infant son Gary, his grandson John, his sister Mildred, and his brother Chester.
Funeral services will be 11:00am Monday, January 20th at Champagne Funeral Chapel with Fr. Robert Pare officiating. Burial will be in St. Felix Cemetery, Pinnebog. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the service on Monday.