\t\t\tViolet Byron \t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tOBITUARY\t\t<\/p>\n
Violet Catherine Byron, 92, of Phoenix, Arizona, formerly of Scranton, passed away Thursday, September 24, 2026. She was the beloved wife of the late Richard Edward Byron, who died in 1992. They were married for 34 years.<\/p>\n
Born June 2, 1934, in Scranton, Violet was the daughter of the late Joseph and Elizabeth Halasz Vaida. She graduated with honors from Scranton Technical High School in 1952, where her classmates named her \u201cMiss Co-operation,\u201d a title that perfectly captured the person she would become.<\/p>\n
Violet and Richard raised their two children in Scranton, where she devoted herself to her family, church, and community. She was active in numerous organizations, including the Catholic Women\u2019s Club, Mothers\u2019 Guild, St. Mary\u2019s PTA, Cub Scouts, Scranton Prep Mothers\u2019 Club, and the Altar and Rosary Society, where she served as president.<\/p>\n
While working as the financial aid coordinator for veterans\u2019 affairs at Penn State Scranton, Violet returned to school and graduated with academic honors in 1983. She was a member of the Greater Scranton Penn State Club and later named the first female president. Under her leadership, the club was awarded \u201cThe Most Outstanding Club in Pennsylvania.\u201d She was honored as its Alumna of the Year in 1994 and later received a Penn State Administrative Excellence Award before retiring in 2000.<\/p>\n
Violet loved to travel, especially with her sister. Together they visited their ancestral land of Hungary and traveled extensively throughout the US and Europe. In 2000, she moved to Arizona to be near her family. She quickly found new communities by becoming an active member of AFFAN (Ahwatukee Foothills Friends and Neighbors), where she joined many clubs. She was a dedicated member of St. Benedict Catholic Church, serving as a lector for many years.<\/p>\n
She was a beloved grandmother who enjoyed being involved in her grandchildren\u2019s lives. For many years, she volunteered in the classrooms of her granddaughters, Jessica and Emilee, and in Mrs. McCormick\u2019s kindergarten classroom for several years after they both moved up grade levels at St. John Bosco Catholic School in Phoenix, Arizona.<\/p>\n
Violet\u2019s greatest gift was simply the joy she brought with her wherever she went. She made people laugh, made them feel welcome, and made everyone\u2019s life better just by being there. People wanted to be around her. To hear her stories, laugh with her, and soak up some of her happiness. She had a rare ability to make an ordinary day feel more special.<\/p>\n
We will miss her laughter, her stories, her warmth, and the joy she brought to our lives. We were so fortunate to have her as long as we did.<\/p>\n
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Violet was preceded in death by her husband, Richard; her parents; and her brother, Stephen Joseph Vaida.<\/p>\n
She is survived by her son, Richard K. Byron, and his wife, Marianne; her daughter, Lisa Sallurday, and her husband, Bill; her grandchildren, Tiffanie Byron, Sarah Schneider and her husband, David, Mary Catherine Byron, Jessica Sallurday, and Emilee Sallurday; her great-grandchildren, Tristan, Nathaniel, Michael, and Vaida Schneider; and her siblings, Frank Vaida, Ann Vaida, and Allen Vaida, along with several nieces and nephews.<\/p>\n