Larry Gene Byers

In Loving Memory of

Larry Gene Byers

Larry Byers was born on April 30, 1943, in Tyler, Minnesota to Guy and Florence Swan Byers.  Larry was baptized and confirmed at the Slayton United Methodist Church and grew up on the family farm near Hadley, MN.  Larry attended country school and Slayton High School where he played football and baseball and graduated in 1961.  He enlisted in the United States Army on August 25, 1961, serving as a Sergeant in the National Guard until his honorable discharge on May 31, 1967.  On April 11, 1964, he and Gail Onken were united in marriage at Trinity Lutheran Church in Slayton.  Following their marriage, Larry worked for the REA for a short time, and they made their home on the Byers family farm until 1975 when they moved to a farm north of Hadley. Larry continued farming and they raised their three children there. Larry was a left-handed pitcher for the Hadley Buttermakers from the age of 16 and came out of retirement at age of 45 when the team reorganized.  He was known for his fierce pick-off move to first base and had the opportunity to play in a game with Hall-of-Famer Satchel Paige in his barn-storming days.  In 2016 Larry was honored to wear his original Buttermakers uniform and throw out the first pitch of the season to his grandson, James, who was on the team. Larry’s love of baseball included cheering for the Minnesota Twins and his Hometown Hadley Buttermakers.  He was able to tour the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY and took a trip with his grandsons, Adam and James, to three other major league ballparks.  Larry became a Dekalb seed corn dealer in the mid-1970s and brought his son-in-law, Eric, into the dealership in 1994, forming L&E Seeds.  In 1997 Larry and Gail purchased the Stonegate Apple Orchard north of Slayton.  Together they owned and operated the orchard until 2017 when they retired and moved to Slayton.  Larry and Gail enjoyed traveling and travelled much of the United States including a favorite cruise around the Hawaiian Islands.  They also enjoyed their cruises to the Caribbean and the Panama Canal and driving around in their 1966 Chevy Impala convertible. Gail passed away on March 27, 2019, and Larry continued to live in their home in Slayton.  Larry passed away at Our House Hospice Home on March 9, 2024, after a lengthy and courageous battle with cholangiocarcinoma.  Larry was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church and attended services at the Presbyterian/Reformed Church.  He was a member of the Lake Wilson American Legion, Hadley Lions, Hadley Buttermakers, and served on the Hadley Elevator Board, and the Lowville and Slayton Township Boards.  He enjoyed spending time and playing cards, especially Phase 10, with his family, attending his grandchildren’s activities, helping his son-in-law on the farm, coffee with the guys, and his calico cat, Molly.

Survivors include his three children, John and Jaynee Byers of Mosinee, WI, Sarah and Eric Dahlgren of Hadley, MN, and Brian Byers of Slayton, MN, six grandchildren, Adam and Marcie Byers, Megan and John Felker, Erica and Kellen Bernhardt, James and Jessica Dahlgren, Angela Dahlgren, and Vanessa Dahlgren, 11 great-grandchildren, Ava, Alexis, and Jackson Byers, Beckett, Madelynn, and Garrett Felker, Bristol, Beckham, Ruby and Johnny Bernhardt, and Soren Dahlgren, one sister, Carole Schmitz and her husband Marion of Eugene, OR, three sisters-in-law, Mary Voorhees and her husband, Ritchie, Appleton, MN, Karen Onken, Slayton, MN, and Dorothy Byers, Slayton, MN, and several nieces, nephews and their families.  He is preceded in death by his parents, wife, Gail, brother and sister-in-law, Doug and Sylvia Byers, brother-in-law, Gary Onken, and niece, Lisa Belloni.

Funeral Services

First Reformed Church in Slayton, MN on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. with Rev. Aaron Punt officiating.  The organist is Janet Voges.  The pallbearers are his grandchildren.  Interment is at Slayton Memorial Gardens in Slayton, MN.  Military honors accorded by the Lake Wilson American Legion Post. 

Visitation will be on Friday, March 15, 2024, at the First Reformed Church in Slayton from 4-6 p.m. and one hour prior to the services at the church on Saturday.  Totzke Funeral Home of Slayton is entrusted with arrangements.  Memorials are preferred to the Hadley Buttermakers Baseball Team, Hadley Lions, Hospice of Murray County, or the Lake Wilson American Legion. To view online obituary and send condolences visit totzkefuneralhome.com

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