Janet May Byers, 77, of Bel Air, Maryland, and Bar Harbor, Maine, passed away peacefully on June 10, 2024 at Senator Bob Hooper Hospice House in Forest Hill, Maryland.

Ms. Byers was born in Waynesboro, Virginia, the daughter of James A. Byers and Barbara W. Byers. She is preceded in death by her father, mother, and step- mother, Elizabeth Driscoll Byers.

Ms. Byers is survived by Paul Totaro, her loving companion of 25 years; her sister, Diane Byers Bodkin of South Barrington, Illinois; her brother Alfred Maxwell Byers of Orem, Utah; and her brother James Arthur Byers of Shipman, Virginia; and ten nieces and nephews.

Ms. Byers obtained her baccalaureate degree from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and her Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Virginia.

She loved Baltimore and proclaimed her favorite job was applying her skills and talents to help strengthen urban development in the city she loved. After a career as an urban planner she earned certification as a teacher and taught French in a local high school.

Volunteering was a passion of Ms. Byers which she fulfilled singing with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s choir and several other chorale groups, helping repair and rebuild homes with the local Habitat for Humanity, driving dialysis patients for treatment, driving for Meals on Wheels, and fundraising for her Unitarian Universalist Church.

Janet was a lady of many interests and hobbies. Gifted with perfect pitch and an entertaining ease at the keyboard, she loved playing the piano. She also enjoyed playing bridge with friends, tennis, swimming, traveling, hiking, bike riding, watercolor painting, cooking, gardening, and landscaping her home in Bel Air and in Bar Harbor.

Her Memorial Service will be private.