Philly mourns loss of an adopted son

By: Ellen Liburt While cautioning that Philadelphia Daily News Senior Editor W. Russell G. Byers would never want his murder to become a signal for residents to abandon hope for Philadelphia, an editorial in the paper following his demise Dec. 4 captured the effect of his loss on an entire city:
"A man who used his wealth and influence to make people's lives in Philadelphia better is killed by some lowlife thug in the city's safest-seeming community, Chestnut Hill. Who wouldn't feel rage and despair? We certainly do."
Byers, 59, and his wife of 26 years, Laurada Beacham Byers, were returning from a dinner party when they stopped to buy four pints of H?agen-Dazs ice cream at a convenience store a few blocks from their home.
A man came "out of the shadows," Laurada Byers said later, and ordered her husband to hand over his valuables. Byers resisted, attempting to lead the robber away from her, and the man plunged a knife into his heart ? which, by all accounts, was more than large enough to power his imposing, silver-haired frame as well as his civic impulses. Byers died before his wife could reach his side.
Byers was born into fortunate circumstances in Pittsburgh. His great-grandfather founded the A.M. Byers Steel company. The "G." in his name stood for Grace, and came from his mother, a member of the W.R. Grace family, founders of the global chemical and construction products firm.
A graduate of Yale University, Byers worked for decades in government service ? as an aide to U.S. Sen. Hugh Scott, chief of staff for Philadelphia Councilman W. Thacher Longstreth, and Philadelphia regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, among other jobs.
Tim Wirth, who subsequently served Colorado as a U.S. representative and senator, shared an office with Byers during his days at the U.S. Department of Housing, Education and Welfare. Wirth told the Daily News' sister paper, The Philadelphia Inquirer, "The things he cared about he just dived into with an enormous energy and enormous love."
By 1988, Byers' enormous love for his adopted city had spurred him to become a Daily News columnist. By '92, his pungent columns were running twice a week. In '93, he became the paper's business editor, and, a year later, senior editor. At the time of his death, his columns appeared two to four times a week.
With his extensive command of the facts, a passionate belief that private enterprise could often solve problems better than government, and boundless optimism for the city, Byers tackled subjects ranging from education to waste in municipal government to revitalizing Philadelphia.
Javier Goode, 20, has been arraigned on murder and other charges in Byers' slaying.
In addition to his wife, Byers leaves behind a daughter, a son, two sisters, two brothers, and a grandson who bears his name.
(Editor & Publisher WebSite:http:www.mediainfo.com) [Caption]
(copyright: Editor & Publisher December 11, 1999) [Caption]