Mrs. Byrd, age 84, of Progress, Texas, died Saturday, December 12, 2009, in Lubbock. Church services for Elna Bird are scheduled for 2:00 p.m., Thursday, December 17, 2009, at First Baptist Church of Muleshoe with Rev. Lou Balenton of Morton, Texas officiating. Burial will be in Bailey County Cemetery under the direction of Ellis Funeral Home, Muleshoe.

She was born February 21, 1925, in Sapulpa, Oklahoma to Arthur and Ella (Jenkins) Graves. She married L. Byrd in Clovis, New Mexico on August 10, 1954. Mrs. Byrd worked 39 years for Muleshoe Area Medical Center as an LVN, retiring in 1991. She taught Sunday School for 54 years in the Second Baptist Church in Progress and worked in Mission Ladies. She was a member of the New Trinity Baptist Church of Morton. She and her husband assisted churches across the Panhandle on special occasions. She spend a lifetime taking care of people. Her hobbies included knitting, sewing, traveling, and raising Quarter horses.

She is survived by husband, L. Byrd of Progress Texas; daughter and husband, Joyceline and Domingo Velasquez of Pampa, Texas; sisters-in-law, Mary Collins of Clovis, New Mexico, Ella Traylor of Clovis, New Mexico, and Willie Mae Graves of Progress, Texas, and granddaughter, Amy Velasquez of Pampa Texas.

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Complied and transcribed by Zoey Fryhover, 2009.