Lola May Byrd Loth

April 27, 2020

Lola Mae Byrd Loth passed away on April 26, 2020, after a long and fruitful life of nearly 108 years. ln the end she passed quietly during the night at Specialty Health and Rehabilitation facility in Pensacola, FL while recovering from a recent hip fracture.

Wife of William Lemar Byrd, beloved mother of only son, William Garland Byrd, and cherished grandmother of Selinda Byrd Smith and Scott Lemar Byrd, she loved her family and was loved in return.

Lola was born to lda McLain Cohron and Theophlous Marvin Cohron on June 20, 1912 in Excel, Alabama. The fourth youngest child in a family of eight children, she savored memories of her childhood years in rural Alabama. She survived all of her brothers and sisters — Cecil Curtis Cohron (born 1905), Horace Rufers Cohron (born 1906), Otis Cohron (born 1908), Annie Ruth Cohron King (born 1909), Telma Winnie Cohron who died in infancy (born 1915), Maruin Etheridge Cohron (born 1918), and Bessie Ray Cohron Ward (born 1920).

After the death of her young husband at age 35, she and 13-year old Garland learned to build a life on their own in Frisco City, AL.

For a brief time, Lola relocated to Rochester, NY where she married Chuck Loth.

She later divorced and returned to her roots in the South, settling in Pensacola, FL where she lived on the same street as brother Curtis and sister Ruth and worked at J.C. Penney for approximately 17 years until she retired. For many years, until she could no longer drive, she was a faithful member of East Brent Baptist Church. Her Christian faith and her fond memories of family and “the old place” were endless sources of comfort for her.

Lola loved flowers and photographs. Her favorite color was pink. She was a talented seamstress. She loved traveling with her siblings, making trips to Oregon and Hawaii.

She was blessed with good health and “lived” history. Her life spanned from horse and buggy to modern space and air travel, from the Spanish influenza of 1918 to the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, from World Wars I and II and the
Great Depression to current political times. She saw and lived a span of history gifted to very few.

She is survived by son, William G. Byrd and wife, Bobbie D. Byrd of Molino, FL; granddaughter, Selinda Byrd Smith and husband, Daniel L. Smith of West Linn, OR; grandson, Scott L. Byrd and wife, Tobbe Bush Byrd of Gulf Breeze, FL; great-grandchildren, Ryan L. Smith of Charleston, SC and Lauren E. Smith of Wilsonville, OR, as well as many nieces and one nephew.

Comments

4 Responses to “Lola May Byrd Loth”

  1. Selinda Byrd Smith on May 8th, 2020 3:13 pm

    Rest In Peace, Grandmother! You will be very missed.
    Love you,
    Sindy (Selinda Byrd Smith)

    Two siblings names were inadvertently misspelled as my original text got copied by the Funeral Home and now the newspaper. It doesn’t change Grandmother’s story at all, but to honor their memory, I will make the corrections here:
    Zelma (not Telma) Winnie Cohron who died in infancy (born 1915) and Marvin (not Maruin) Etheridge Cohron (born 1918).

  2. Chris Fisher on May 3rd, 2020 4:44 pm

    Kola, Mabel Schmidt ( my Mom) and Betty kmKellar were tablemates and fast friends @ Broadview. Remembering the lunch birthday bash and sing along 3years ago with assistance from my niece Emily and granddaughter Sydney on mandolin. May you rest in the assurance that she is with the Good Shepherd her Savior in his arms. ✝️

  3. Vicki Lambert on May 2nd, 2020 1:46 am

    Mr. Billy (Garland as Ms.lola would say ) and Ms.Bobbie and family I am so sorry to read this ,I know how much she will be missed .ILoved every minute with Ms.Lila listening to all the stories ,while doing her hair .She adored her family ,took great pride in her life .loved the Lord A wonderful Lady

  4. Century living on May 1st, 2020 2:42 pm

    I’m so very sorry for your loss. I didn’t know Ms.Loth or anyone in her family but with such a long and amazing life lived I felt I needed to stop and convey my condolences to the family.