Joseph Pitts Byrd III

Joseph Pitts Byrd III, a native Tulsan, died on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at Northside Forsyth Hospital in Cumming, Georgia of complications due to pneumonia. He was born in Tulsa on December 14, 1915 to Joseph P. Byrd Jr., a prominent Tulsa banker, and Emma Gene (nee Burrow) Byrd. He attended Lee and Horace Mann Schools, and graduated from Tulsa Central High School. In 1934, he enrolled at Georgia Tech, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, won several letters on the school's Track and Cross Country teams, and graduated in 1938 with a degree in Engineering.

During World War II, Byrd served as Communications Officer on the USS Trenton, a Light Cruiser, seeing combat in the Northern Pacific and winning the Bronze Star. He remained in the Naval Reserves, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

After the War, Byrd returned to his home in Tulsa. For several years he worked for Franks Manufacturing and the Parkersburg Rig & Reel Co. Three years after being transferred to Denver in 1952, he left Parkersburg to take a position with Kimbark Oil. Later, was founder and President of Oilfield Equipment Corporation (OEC) of Denver, where he invented the Mark II oilfield pumpjack (called the grasshopper), a revolutionary advancement in the Oil Industry. In 1961, OEC was purchased by Lufkin Industries of Lufkin, Texas. Throughout the remainder of his career, Byrd oversaw innovations and refinements to the Mark II as Lufkin's Director of Research & Development.

In 1971, Byrd received the Meritorious Award for Engineering Innovation at the International Petroleum Exposition. Five years later Byrd's invention of the Mark II was installed in the bi-centennial energy exhibit, Our Changing Land, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. In 1993, he was elected to the Georgia Tech Engineering Hall of Fame as a founding member.


In addition to his numerous professional accomplishments, Byrd was a leader in public service throughout his life. He was a Rotarian for over fifty years, and served as President of the Lufkin Rotary Club and Rotary District Governor for East Texas. He served for thirty years on the Board of Trustees of Angelina College in Lufkin. For his efforts, he received the Angelina Award, Lufkin's highest and most prestigious citation.

He is survived by his wife Mary Mead Byrd of Tucson, Arizona; son Joseph P. Byrd IV and his wife Sandi of Cumming, Georgia; son William E. Byrd and his wife Beth of Atlanta, Georgia; a daughter, Susan Merrill, of Durango, Colorado; three step-children; a sister-in-law, Mrs. Roy Mead, of Tulsa; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. The Ingram Funeral Home of Cumming, Georgia is handling arrangements, with a memorial service scheduled for 10:00 am on Friday, October 29, 2010 at the First Methodist Church in Lufkin, Texas, followed by interment at Rose Hill Mausoleum in Tulsa at 10:00 am on Monday, November 1st.

Ingram Funeral Home & Crematory, Cumming, Georgia is in charge of arrangements.

Condolences may be made at www.ingramfuneralhome.com.