Gerald M. Byrd, age 84 of Washington passed away on Wednesday morning at Select Specialty Hospital in Evansville. He was born on December 26, 1923 in Bicknell to Douglas Newton and Alice Grace (McElroy) Byrd. He graduated from Wheatland High School in 1941 and later from Butler University. He was a U.S. Army Veteran of World War II where he received a Bronze Star. He was retired from Thorne Apple Valley. He is survived by one daughter Candace Slepica of Washington.; one grandson and his wife, Merrill and Amanda Slepica of Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany; one great grandson, Thaddeus Lee Slepica also of Germany; two sisters, Mary K. Carey of Wheatland and Doris Neukam of Washington; and one brother Bill Byrd of Crown Point, Indiana. He is preceded in death by his wife, Ann (Burns) Byrd, whom he married September 2, 1950 and she died February 1, 2006, and one sister, Wanda Rasner. Funeral services will be held on Saturday at 11:00 AM at Ed Lee Mortuary with Pastor Gene Rasner officiating. Burial will follow in Wheatland Cemetery with military graveside rites by the Washington American Legion and VFW. Visitation will be on Friday from 4 to 8 PM at Ed Lee Mortuary. Condolences may be sent online at www.edleemortuary.com.