Kitty Byrd Dyer, 77, of Brooksville, Florida, passed away Jan. 5, 2025, surrounded by family and friends.
She was born April 13, 1947, in Wheeling and raised in Fort Seybert by her loving parents, the late James and Grace Dyer.
Ms. Dyer was a gifted artist, a mother to seven beloved children, and an accomplished author of many books, poems, and songs.
She had a relentless love of learning which culminated in receiving a master’s degree in English and creative writing from the University of South Dakota. Afterward she became an associate professor of English at Si Tanka University, a small tribal university in Eagle Butte, South Dakota.
Her dedication to her faith in Christ was revealed in the work she did.
She was a renaissance woman with a deep love for nature and an adventurous spirit that led her from her childhood home in West Virginia to make her home in many places around the country. Wherever she went, she was loved by everyone and she touched many lives. Her life has left a legacy of love and an example of a life well lived. She will be greatly missed.
Surviving are her husband, Dennis Burghart, and previous spouse, S. Phillip Toothman; children, Stephen, James, Aaron, Ivan, Regina, Mary, and Catie; and her beloved nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
She will be laid to rest in Fort Seybert with a view of the mountains she loved.
In her memory, please plant a tree or donate to charity in her name.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Basagic Funeral Home in Franklin and Brewer & Sons Funeral Home in Brooksville, Florida.
