One of the most remarkable, enthusiastic, and generous members of the greater community of Michigan’s Great Southwest has slipped the surly bonds of earth, having died early today at the age of 88. Priscilla Upton Byrns, whose name will live on for decades in the iconic building bearing her name at the Priscilla U. Byrns Heritage Center in St. Joseph, was filled with a verve for life matched by few of her peers. She was a devoted volunteer, just as her mother before her, and always had a smile for anyone who crossed her path.
Her youngest daughter, Mindy O’brien, who lives in Ireland, revealed the news to her Facebook friends and family in the pre-dawn hours on a winter postcard day, saying that her mother had “just peacefully passed after 88 incredible years.” She went on to note that Priscilla , “Fiercely loved her family, community and friends and loved a party. Her ever present smile lit up her surroundings.” That was an absolute fact, and one experienced by countless members of the community as well as strangers on the streets of our community.
Renowned St. Joseph Author Kathy Zerler chronicled her life of volunteerism for a story in the Herald-Palladium nearly 19 years ago saying, “Most people who have volunteered as long as Priscilla Upton Byrns has would quit, settle back and rest on their laurels. Yet she does not regard herself as finished.” She then quoted Byrns as saying, “I never really think of myself as successful. Everybody just comes in and helps. I don’t know how it works, maybe it’s because I’m so enthusiastic.” That, too, is another absolute fact. Her enthusiasm carried over at that point when she was 69 years old and was still very much there at the end.
Amazingly, she told Kathy, “Really, I should do more. I’ve been blessed with good health, and I know from my youth how important it is to be involved. I believe in a lot of things in moderation.”
The building bearing her name is momentarily in crisis mode, recovering from a failed HVAC system last month that caused extensive flooding damage, however as home to the Fort Miami Heritage Society work is underway along with a fundraising drive to overcome those issues.
Ironically, it was the work of Priscilla Byrns herself that was instrumental in rescuing the building from the wrecking ball years ago when fire destroyed its forerunner, The Landmark Center which was a church restoration project converted into a community events center. She told Zerler, “We saved the old church after we learned it was slated to be torn down for a parking lot. Really, Steve was the one who started that, he was up in arms because this was an historic building with many wonderful architectural details.” The Steve she was referring to in that interview is her son Stephen Byrns a New York architect who helped form the “Good Faith Committee,” to raise money to save it.
Priscilla Byrns was the daughter of Whirlpool Corporation co-founder Frederick S. Upton and her mother Margaret B. Upton whose name also lives on in the form of the Margaret B. Upton Arboretum along the St. Joseph River below the city’s band shell, and the Margaret B. Upton Volunteer Leadership Award administered annually for the past 35 years by the United Way of Southwest Michigan.
She married Chester J. Byrns, an attorney and retired Berrien County Circuit Court Judge in what was then the First Congregational Church which later became the Landmark Center and the reincarnated Heritage Museum named after her.
She grew up in the Edgewater neighborhood of St. Joseph, and raised four children, Stephen, Carrie Vill, Kathleen McClendon and Melinda O’brien.
Priscilla followed deeply into the footsteps of both parents who were active community volunteers in a myriad of ways and continued that lifestyle throughout her entire life. Her most notable work may well have come from the philanthropy of the family foundation, the Frederick S. Upton Foundation where she served with her brothers David and Stephen Upton, both from St. Joseph and her sister Sylvia Wood from Camden, South Carolina. She was also a long time member of the boards of directors for the Fort Miami Heritage Society, the Berrien Community Foundation and in her role as President of the St. Joseph/Lincoln Senior Center.
She once recalled that she had served so many organizations she couldn’t even recall them all, but among those who benefited from her time, talent and treasure were the YWCA, Girl Scouts, the Antiquarian Society, the Michigan Symphony League, Monday Musical, and the Indian Hills Garden Club.
The Upton family has become legendary in Michigan’s Great Southwest with Priscilla’s father’s role in launching the largest home appliance manufacturer in the world at Whirlpool, her brother Stephen’s long time leadership role in that company, her brother David’s pioneer work in crafting the early underpinnings of the Southwest Michigan Wine Trail at Tabor Hill Winery and Restaurant, her nephew Congressman Fred Upton’s ascension in the ranks of the United States House of Representatives, and her nephew Jeff Upton’s world famous daughter Kate Upton Verlander, a super model and motion picture star who married professional baseball’s Justin Verlander this winter shortly after his role in winning the World Series with the Houston Astros. She spoke with great pride of her entire extended family here and across the globe.
Priscilla was an avid singer, tennis and bridge player and loved to do needlepoint when she could find the time. Above all, however, she cherished family and community giving her heart and soul to both.
As she told Kathy Zerler on a fall day in 1999, “There’s always time to help. There are so many needs. I worry about what still needs to be done.” She lamented the fact that so many people are so busy in their every day lives, noting…as always…”We really need more volunteers.”
If you want to honor the memory of Priscilla Upton Byrns…volunteer your time, talent and treasure whenever you can and make the community a better place than when you arrived here. Then, you will be just like her in some small way, and you’ll keep her smile beaming for eternity.
The photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market.com is from the Margaret B. Upton Volunteer Leadership award ceremony in 2016 when Priscilla Byrns and her nephew Congressman Fred Upton made the presentation to Bertha Carson King of Benton Harbor.
Funeral arrangements will be forthcoming. Stay tuned.
