Lauretta Byrd

Yesterday, the Aquarium lost a warm, enthusiastic, and talented team member, Lauretta Byrd.

Lauretta passed away this morning after a long illness.

Lauretta joined the Aquarium of the Pacific in 2005 as a member of the Pacific Collections team. Over time, she worked in Guest Services and then in Education as an interpreter. She also worked as an Actor in the Aquarium’s theatrical presentation department. In 2006, Lauretta began volunteering with our penguins. She also volunteered for the Marketing department working both on-site and off-site events. She was an official reader for the Urban Ocean Poetry Contest for eight years. Lauretta was the ‘face of the Green Team’ here at the Aquarium encouraging staff to recycle. She also served for a time on the Aquarium 101 team for new recruits training newcomers on the Aquarium’s service excellence program. Lauretta had a thirst for knowledge and attended countless Aquarium lectures and Aquatic Academy classes. She also attended Long Beach City College for two years and was working toward completing her 4 year BA Degree on-line in the evenings, with only 3 more math classes to go.

Lauretta Byrd was born in Los Angeles, and lived in Southern California for her entire 59 years.  She was a loving mother to her only son, Andrew Craig whom she raised on her own. She had a robust business as house and pet sitter for many clients,  including Aquarium staff. Lauretta was a deeply spiritual woman, with a strong Christian faith. She was an active member of the Cottonwood Church, in Cypress, CA.

We are grateful to Lauretta for all that she contributed to the Aquarium and for her infectious joy and optimism.  With a smile on her face and a flower in her hair, Lauretta always made our days brighter.

We will miss her terribly.

As of now, we don’t have any details regarding a memorial service. We will keep you posted.

Luyben Dilday Mortuary (562) 425-6401