Byron Lee Trefts was born August 15th 1938 in St Louis Missouri. He was the son of Byron G. and Florence Trefts. Byron attended public schools there and entered the United States Army upon graduating Southwest High School in 1956. Upon completion of his military service, Byron began college in 1957 at Washington University in St Louis. He completed his undergraduate degree in 1962 with a B.S. degree in Business Management from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. While attending Butler, Byron was President of his pledge class and later,Treasurer of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. His first job after graduation, was with the Teamsters Union Local #135 in Indianapolis, Indiana as business representative. While employed by the Union, Byron attended evening classes at Indiana University's School of Law. Byron was hired by Champion International in 1969 as a manager of Corporate Labor Relations in Hamilton, Ohio and remained with the company until he retired in 1998 from its corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut as Corporate Vice President of Employee Relations/Organizational Development. During his years as an executive with Champion, Byron was recognized as a leader in the paper industry and became Chairman of the American Paper Institute's Employee Relations and Labor Relations committees. He also graduated from Dartmouth College Amos Tuck Executive program while working for Champion. Byron developed a strong interest in golf during those years and became a member of the Connecticut Golf Club, where he served on its Board of Governors for 9 years and Club President two years. Byron also was a member of Mayacoo Lakes Country Club and Emerald Dunes Golf Club in West Palm Beach where he had "two hole in ones" and "shot his age" before turning 80 and several times after turning 80. Byron enjoyed travel and did so frequently during his private and professional life. He visited all 50 states in the United States, all of the provinces of Canada, much of the Caribbean, Mexico and Cuba, most of Eastern Europe, Western Europe, as well as China, Southeast Asia and North Africa. Byron is survived by his wife Joyce (Grigsby) Trefts who he married in 1963, his daughter Stacey her husband Mark Stachowiak, his son Brad and his wife Stacey Trefts and his four grandchildren, Max, Grace, Molly and Carter. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society "In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." ~Abraham Lincoln
