Obituary of Byrd Harrison Breeden
Byrd Harrison Breeden of Caldwell, NJ, died on January 21, 2025, at the age of 89.
He is survived by his wife, Sharon San Diego, and children: Meg (Paul Perrot) Breeden; Molly (Edward) Connors; and stepchildren: Philip (Marsha) Wallace; Matthew Wallace; Andrew (Bina Bhattacharyya) Wallace; and Susannah Naglee. He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Maggie Mascarenhas, Anthony Mascarenhas, Jack Connors, Camille Connors, Giselle Wallace, Daphne Wallace, Ivan Naglee and Matilda Naglee.
Harrison was predeceased by his parents, Byrd Harrison Breeden, Sr. and Mary Rempe Breeden of Richmond, Virginia. He was their only child. His father was a native of Richmond. His mother grew up in Wheeling, West Viriginia, and moved to Richmond in 1934 when they married.
Harrison attended Richmond Public Schools for elementary school while his parents lived in the Fan District. He attended middle school in Lakeside while his parents lived on the Lewis Ginter property in the 1940’s. The property is now known as Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.
Harrison had the opportunity to attend Christchurch School for 10th -12th grades. He graduated from Christchurch School in 1954 and then attended Randolph Macon College. It was at Randolph Macon College where he pursued his interest in studying Spanish literature and history. His senior thesis was on the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. He graduated from Randolph Macon College in 1959.
Harrison met his first wife, Nancy Bothwell (née Maeder), in 1955 and they married in 1959. After he taught history in the high school in Bowling Green, Va, they moved to Chapel Hill, NC, where Harrison attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nancy and Harrison had two daughters, Meg and Molly.
Harrison returned to Richmond in 1964. His career path changed when he began working as a draftsman for the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities where he developed a fascination for studying the blueprints of the Richmond city streets.
He retired in 1991 and moved to Wilmington, NC, with his second wife, Sharon. They enjoyed the coastal life of Wilmington and hosted their children and grandchildren on many occasions. Harrison took on part-time work delivering flowers for Verzaal’s and often commented, “it was the best job I ever had as everyone was always happy to receive flowers.”
In 2001, Harrison and Sharon relocated to New Jersey and enjoyed the next 24 years helping to take care of their granddaughters, Giselle and Daphne.
Harrison was an avid reader and lifelong learner of history and Romance languages. He often made references to some of his favorite books: Don Quixote, Moby Dick, Madame Bovary, Dr. Zhivago, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and anything about Abraham Lincoln. He loved to share stories and would give a lesson on the Civil War and Reconstruction as easily as discussing the current weather. His dictionaries were very well worn as he had a passion for studying the meaning of words and names and enjoyed extensive exploration of word derivations.
The Celebration of Life will be held at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, 1800 Lakeside Avenue, Richmond, VA, on April 13th at 11:30am. Remembrances will be held in the Robins Room and lunch will follow.
Services in New Jersey were provided by Codey Funeral Home of Caldwell. To share condolences or memories, please visit CodeyFH.com.