www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday February 8, 2008 - 19 Cliff Byrnes oversaw Halton Catholic board's formative years Former director of education remembered for his leadership and commitment The longest-serving director of education in the history of Halton's Catholic school board has died. Cliff Byrnes passed away at Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital last Friday. He was 74. A funeral mass was held Monday in a packed St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Burlington and was attended by approximately 700 people. Byrnes assumed the position of director of education at the Halton Catholic District School Board on Aug. 1, 1971, two years after the four municipal separate school boards in Halton (Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Georgetown) had amalgamated to form the Halton Regional Roman Catholic Separate School Board in 1969. He succeeded the board's firstever director of education, James Hogan. Having served the board for 23 years as its director, he retired in August 1994. The board's main administrative offices on Drury Lane, off Fairview Street, were renamed for Byrnes upon his retirement. "Cliff Byrnes served this board faithfully with a distinctive and personable style, an innovative style and an unmistakable commitment to social justice and to the teachings and values of the Catholic faith," Lou Piovesan, the current director of education for the Halton Catholic District School Board, said in a board press release. "I know personally of Cliff's many contributions to our Catholic school system. I feel very honoured to have worked with Cliff and privileged to have had him as my mentor. Our system is a reflection of his great leadership and his outstanding accomplishments," Piovesan added. During his tenure as director of education, Byrnes witnessed massive changes in the physical growth and development of the board, program expansion and many historical decisions affecting Catholic education. "Through his steadfast determination, guidance and leadership, working with the board of trustees and the Catholic parishes, Catholic secondary education was established in Halton in 1976 with the opening of the board's flagship high school -- Assumption Catholic Secondary School in Burlington," stated the Halton board press release. Prior to Assumption's opening, Catholic high school students used to have to go to separate secondary schools in Hamilton or Mississauga. "Cliff Byrnes put people first, was approachable, understanding and made everything personal to others," said Alice Anne LeMay, longtime trustee and the current chair of the Halton Catholic board. "He had an infectious and welcomed sense of humour, which is much needed of education leaders today." Although he initially considered a career in medicine, Byrnes noted at the time of his retirement that he chose the right career path for him. "I can't think of any position that's more rewarding, when you look back over the years and see progressively the degree of influence you've had on the kids," he said in 1994, noting a similar gratification in assisting staff to develop and to emerge as effective advocates of Catholic education and leaders. Byrnes was born, raised and eduUniversity, and graduated from Hamilton's Teachers College in 1956. He first taught at Brantford's W. Ross MacDonald School for the Visually Impaired (1956-63), became the principal at St. Peter School in Brantford (1963-64) and then at St. Ann School in Ancaster (1964-65). In 1965, Byrnes was appointed as a provincial school inspector in the Kitchener area and became a superintendent of education with the Waterloo Roman Catholic Separate School Board in 1968, where he served until being appointed the director of Education of the Halton Catholic board in 1971. A longtime Burlington resident, Byrnes remained active in retirement. He was a member and former chair of the board of directors of St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton. In August 1997, Byrnes was instrumental in the establishment of the board's Retirement Club -- to provide social opportunities for retirees to renew and continue their friendships with former colleagues. In the late 1990s he was an adjunct professor with the faculty of education at Niagara University in New York State helping mentor students training to become teachers. In retirement he also found time to travel the world and spend time with his eight children and 15 grandchildren. Byrnes is survived by his wife, Doreen, a retired teacher of the Halton Catholic board, and their children Michael, Patti, Kelly, Colleen, Maureen, Kevin, Danny and John. Cliff Byrnes cated in Hamilton. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree at McMaster University, followed by graduate degrees in education from the University of Toronto and York You are Welcome at the Y! ca