Robert Lee Byers, IV's Obituary
Robert Lee Byers, IV
Born on January 17, 1968, in East Orange, NJ, Rob Byers was the son of Jacqueline and Robert Byers III. After moving to the Washington, DC area at the age of one, Rob spent his childhood loving tractor-trailer trucks and trains, going on trips and playing soccer. After graduating from Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, MD, the family moved to Stone Mountain, GA where he attended DeKalb Junior College. In 1987 he was offered a soccer scholarship to Charleston Southern University, where he achieved his dream of playing NCAA Division 3 soccer, and from which he graduated in 1991.
Rob spent the next five years teaching at Decatur, GA schools, the Close-up Program, Capitol Hill Day School and Kimball Elementary School. During the summers he coached soccer at various camps. As an avid soccer player, coach and referee, he was involved in league and team soccer until an injury sidelined him from the game he loved.
Also in 1996, Rob made the decision to pursue a different line of work and enrolled at George Washington University, and other computer schools, to master quality assurance testing. Upon completion of his training, he became a government contractor where he rose through the ranks becoming a Quality Assurance Test Engineer and formed his own company, RAC Consulting, where he served as President and CEO.
In 1996, Rob met Amy Schwinn, who was the love of his life. Married in 1999, they created a loving family that included two daughters, Raissa Erin, born in 2000, and Casey Alana, born in 2003. As a beautiful, loving family unit, they traveled extensively. In the year before his death, they traveled to Clearwater, FL, Niagara Falls and Toronto, Canada, Italy, and Universal Studios in Orlando to visit the Harry Potter exhibit.
In addition to his family and friends, Rob’s passions included riding his motorcycle and smoking a good cigar. An ardent feminist, he also had a strong desire to help people. He demonstrated this by riding in the “Rolling Thunder” Memorial Rides, and being a founding member of the Northern VA Chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse, where he served as vice president. Known for his “tasty” cigars, he was always willing to give a cigar to a friend or a stranger and encouraged his many friends and family members to bring him “good ones” from their travels.
Rob is survived by his wife, two daughters, his mother, Jacqueline Johnson Byers, and extended family members and many friends. He was a kind and caring man who always reached out to help anyone he could and always managed to have a good time doing it.
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