Our beloved Camolia Alcorn Juliet Byrd (Cam) lived a long and accomplished life of 100 years with grace, kindness, and integrity. She passed from this world on November 24, 2023, at home surrounded by her family. 

Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Cam was the daughter of Mary and Rodney Alcorn and the loving elder sister of Nina Mae Alcorn (Ford). She grew up surrounded by a large, loving, and professionally accomplished extended family of Bells, Butlers, and Alcorns. She met her future husband, Lionel P. Byrd, when she was a pre-teen. They were high school sweethearts and married in 1944, after Lionel entered the Army. 

Cam attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, where she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, served as Basileus of the Southern University AKA chapter, and, in 1944, earned her bachelor’s degree in education. In the mid-1950’s, Cam, Lionel (US Army Major), and their three young children lived in Mannheim, Germany for several years before returning to the States and eventually settling in Oklahoma, where Lionel taught field artillery. In Oklahoma City, the family joined St. Peter Claver Catholic Church and later Corpus Christi Catholic Church, where they were active members of the parish. 

Cam’s teaching career began in Baton Rouge and continued in Oklahoma City in the 1960’s at Culbertson Elementary School. In the early 1970’s, at the height of school desegregation and significant racial strife in Oklahoma City, Cam was one of the first African American teachers assigned to the faculty of an all-white school, Edgemere Elementary. While there were serious challenges at Edgemere, Cam overcame them and succeeded. And despite her responsibilities as a full-time teacher and mother, Cam’s love of learning drove her to earn a master’s degree in education from the University of Central Oklahoma. Thereafter, she was promoted to the Board of Education, where she led the city-wide Bilingual Education Program focused on building literacy skills and knowledge in students with English as a second language. 

In Oklahoma, Cam Byrd’s name was synonymous with excellence in teaching and academic achievement. Her philosophy that every student is capable of learning to read, write, speak effectively, and excel in math inspired her colleagues, her pupils, and their parents.

After more than 30 years of public service in education, she retired and founded the “I Can Learning Center,” in northeast Oklahoma City. For almost 15 years, Cam and her team of specialist teachers tutored children and adults, many from economically disadvantaged communities, in math and reading. The I Can center became a model of success and a highly valued resource in Oklahoma City. 

Always politically active, Cam fervently believed in the importance of voting and civic involvement and passed these values on to her children. Together, they worked on the campaigns of Hannah D. Atkins, the first African American woman elected to the Oklahoma state legislature, who subsequently became Oklahoma Secretary of State. Cam also managed the successful state senatorial campaign of the Honorable Vicki Miles-LaGrange – subsequently Chief Judge of the UṢ. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. 

Cam was equally active in her social community, drawing together friends and neighbors. Known as a patient listener and the source of sound advice, friends would often drop by her home for a “talk.” Cam was a parent advisor in Jack & Jill of America and loved helping the teens write and produce an annual play. She was also an active member of the Phi Beta Sigma teachers’ retirement sorority and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. For more than 30 years, she and a close group of friends, “13 Pals,” would gather for bridge on Friday nights. After moving to Maryland in 2008, she continued to play bridge regularly with friends at her retirement community. 

In the last twenty years of her life, even after suffering several serious health setbacks, Cam maintained an intellectual curiosity and zest for life. In 2016, she moved to Washington DC to live with her daughter Janell and son-in-law Norman Chichester. More recently, she was assisted by loving and devoted aides, Lillie Washington, Anna Solomon, and Audrey McDowell, who gave her exceptional care. Despite her challenges, to the end Cam enjoyed playing bridge, listening to music, and would warm your heart with a little joke and her beautiful smile. 

Cam and Lionel had five children: Cheryl, Lionel, Jr. (Thalvis), Judith, Roderick, and Janell (Norman). She is predeceased by her husband, Maj. Lionel P. Byrd, Sr., her sister, Nina Mae Ford, and children, Dr. Cheryl Byrd and Lionel Byrd, Jr. She has four grandchildren: Nicole Johnson (Terry), Karin Kimbrough-Bonnard (Matthieu), Chad Byrd (Yvonne), and Dr. Shonte Byrd; nine great-grandchildren: Mason, Lilliana, Mia, Sebastian, Alec, Elizabeth, Peyton, Tia, and Tre; and a host of loving nieces, nephews, and cousins.

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