Thomas E. Byrne III, 69, lawyer

Thomas E. Byrne III, 69, of Gladwyne, a retired lawyer, died of melanoma March 16 at home.

Mr. Byrne grew up in Merion Station. He spent summers at his family's farm in Phoenixville, where his Irish ancestor Thomas F. Byrne settled in the 1850s and later established a successful knitting mill.

After graduating from Malvern Preparatory School, Mr. Byrne earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a law degree from Villanova University and was a member of the Law Review. For two years he served in the Army Reserve as a medic in the States.

Early in his law career, he practiced at Krusen, Evans & Byrne in Philadelphia, the firm of his father, Thomas E. Byrne Jr. He later joined Post & Schell in Philadelphia and opened its Lancaster office. Though he was mild-mannered, he could be a tenacious courtroom litigator, said his wife, Lois Welsh Byrne. He often worked pro bono as a children's advocate, she said. He retired in 1987.

He and his future wife met at a party and married six months later, in August 1968. In 1976, they bought a 19th-century farmhouse in Gladwyne. Mr. Byrne gutted the house and rebuilt it, his wife said, adding bathrooms, a kitchen, two dormers and a porch. He also renovated the house of his sister, Eileen Barrett, in Strathmere, N.J.

An outdoors enthusiast, Mr. Byrne enjoyed canoeing, hiking and camping and he created an oasis for birds and wildlife in his backyard.

In addition to his wife and sister, he is survived by his mother, Vera F. Byrne; son Christopher; daughter Erin; and two brothers. His son Sean died in February.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Ann's Church, 502 S. Main St., Phoenixville.