Joshua Micah Byerly

Joshua Micah Byerly, 31, of Ludowici, Georgia, passed away Wednesday afternoon,
September 14, 2022, at his home. His quiet, gentle spirit and dry humor will be greatly
missed.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 15, 1991, he was the son of Timothy Evart
and Linda Forsythe Byerly. Josh attended Kansas City Christian School, and First
Presbyterian Day School and was homeschooled from 5 th through 12 th grade. Joshua had a love of engineering from his preschool days. In junior high, his classmates would listen carefully when he answered Bible homework questions. He won 2 nd place in the Thomas Alva Edison Regional Science Fair, Senior Division in 9 th grade. Josh was a Character First Coach at Southwest Florida Christian Academy, teaching elementary-age children about Biblical character qualities each month. He was a member of the Lee County Homeschool Sports Association, where he was a basketball co-captain of the LCHS Ambassadors in his junior and senior years. His team went to State and placed 3rd in his senior year.

At North Fort Myers Presbyterian Church in America, he served as the Sound Technician and sang with the choir and various choral ensembles. Josh was the student skit leader for VBS. After church, he could be found entertaining our pastor’s much younger children. He attended the first Teen Community Bible Study (CBS) in Fort Myers. Joshua graduated from Auburn Road Presbyterian Academy/ Christian Home Educators of Southwest Florida (CHESF) in 2009, with 44 college credits through dual enrollment at Edison State College.

Joshua attended Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA (Chattanooga) for 3
years, deepening his Christian world and life view and studying mechanical engineering.
He served as the MacClellan Dorm Council representative for “Suburbs” hall. He was
known to tutor his Suburbs friends in math and help fix their computer problems. His
favorite pastimes with his friends were hiking and camping on the many trails and state
parks.

Josh and his teammates at Georgia Institute of Technology won Best Mechanical Engineering Project for their Capstone Project in both years. During his last year at Tech,
he lived with fellow Reformed University Fellowship students. In 2014, he earned a
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from Georgia Tech with the
Highest Honors and a Bachelor of Arts in Natural Science degree, Magna Cum Laude,
from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA (dual degree program). He worked for
5 years as a Project Engineer designing and overseeing the development of new equipment and repair/ replacement projects at a local pulp and paper mill. One assignment took him to Barcelona, Spain. Joshua was then promoted to Area Manager
in Operations, where he served for 2 years. His team received the 2019 President’s
Award for reducing total fresh chemical use by $5 million.

Josh spent time exploring the possibility of starting his own engineering
consulting firm. He had applied for his dream job as Launch Engineer for Starship at
SpaceX in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Joshua enjoyed the study of theology and had aspirations of obtaining additional
theological training.

Joshua was a member of the New Covenant Presbyterian Church in America for 8
years. He served as a sound technician and trained others in that ministry. Occasionally,
he led congregational singing with his beautiful deep baritone voice. He loved his Savior,
Jesus Christ, and lived to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Joshua recently expressed
to his pastor that he wanted to grow spiritually through Men’s Bible Study Breakfast,
Men’s Theology Night, small group fellowship, and spending time with other godly men.
Josh loved motorcycles, hiking, camping, mountain climbing, sailing, kayaking,
juggling and basketball. Video games and rock music also occupied his free time. Josh
continued his research into robotic vision, which he began at Georgia Tech.

Survivors include his parents, Linda F. Byerly of Savannah, Chatham County,
GA, and Timothy E. Byerly of N. Fort Myers, Lee County, FL; uncles Donald (Christine)
Forsythe of Dillsburg, PA, and Richard (Catherine) Byerly of Sharon, PA; cousins
Christopher (Nicole) Forsythe of Hopkins, MN, Nina (Joe) Joyner of Virginia Beach,
VA, Trenna (Jim) Croson of Manassas, VA, Glenda (Jason) Haun of Masury, OH, and
Daniel (Melissa) Byerly of Cabot, PA.

Joshua was predeceased by his beloved grandparents John Melbert “Jack” and Jane Morrow Forsythe of Cape Coral, Lee County, FL, and James William and Jeanette Porterfield Byerly of Sharpsville, Mercer County, PA.

A Memorial Service was held on October 8, 2022, in the chapel of Gamble
Funeral Service, 410 Stephenson Avenue, Savannah, Georgia, conducted by Reverend
David W. Senters.

Memorial gifts can be made to either the New Covenant Presbyterian Church in America, designated in memory of Joshua for the Building Fund ( www.newcovpres.com ), or to Oakseed Ministries International ( www.oakseed.org ), which ministers to orphans, widows, and the poor worldwide.