Menifee couple celebrate their 50th anniversary
LaVerne McCoy-Byers and Robert Byers Jr. of Menifee, retired teachers and school administrators, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year.
Plans for an anniversary party are pending because of the pandemic.
They were married April 30, 1971, in Lebanon, Illinois, and lived in Moreno Valley for 33 years before moving to Menifee three years ago.
Robert Byers attended school at a number of Army bases in California because his father was in the Army. He moved to Oklahoma his senior year and graduated from Lawton High School.
After high school, he enlisted in the Air Force and served for 20 years.
While he was in the Air Force, he received a bachelor’s degree in health care administration from Southern Illinois University, and he later received a master’s degree in educational administration from Cal State San Bernardino.
During Robert’s years in the Air Force, he and LaVerne lived in various places, including Taipei, Taiwan; Omaha, Nebraska; and Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
After retiring from the Air Force, Robert was a physical education teacher at Moreno Valley High School for seven years. He was also defensive coordinator for the Moreno Valley High School football team and coached the track team for several years. When his sons were young, he coached for the Riverside Junior Tackle Football League.
He also served 11 years as principal of Bayside Community Day School in the Moreno Valley Unified School District.
LaVerne McCoy-Byers graduated from Sumner High School in St. Louis and got her bachelor’s degree from McKendree College (now McKendree University) in Lebanon, Illinois. She later received a master’s degree from Cal State San Bernardino and her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of La Verne.
Her career in education included teaching social studies in the Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley and Riverside unified school districts and in the Perris Union High School District. She has served as a dean of students in the Moreno Valley district and as an assistant principal in the Moreno Valley and Fontana unified school districts.
She also has taught for the University of Maryland in Taipei, Taiwan, and at Cal State San Bernardino, among others.
She is the author of “The McCoy Family: Escape From Poverty to Prosperity, Sumner High School, St. Louis, Mo., 1951-1972,” an independently published book that is available on Amazon.
LaVerne and Robert both are working as substitute administrators for the Moreno Valley Unified School District and are real estate agents for Better Homes and Gardens in Riverside.
They have two sons, both teachers — Bradley Byers of Menifee and Christopher Byers and his wife, Carla, of Murrieta.
They also have five grandchildren.
They enjoy traveling, dancing, playing cards with friends and spending time with family.