LEWISTON – Janina Byrd, 82, of Allen Pond Road in Greene, died Thursday, Dec. 18, at Central Maine Medical Center.

She was born in Poznan, Poland, on Oct. 11, 1926. She spent a happy childhood there with her parents and one brother. As a young woman, she survived the trials of World War II and imprisonment in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. After the war ended, she met and married Jimmy Riley Byrd, while he was stationed in Germany helping with displaced persons. They married in August 1947, and came to the United States.

Stateside she studied hard and was extremely proud to become a United States citizen. She never took lightly the privileges of living in this country. She was a meticulous housekeeper and a marvelous cook. Her greatest joy in life was to take care of her family. Her “profession” was that of homemaker, wife and mother. She was very proud of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was always a “lady” and conducted herself as such. She was widowed in 1980. She wed Louis Bisensang in 1993, and they enjoyed 15 wonderful years together.

Leaving their farm in Hartfield, Mo., in 1999, they moved to the East Coast to live with her daughter Debbie Gill, and her family. She will be missed by the many friends and family members whose lives she touched throughout the 82 years of her life.

She is survived by her husband, Louis Bisensang; her children, Stanley and Pat Byrd of Fair Grove, Mo., Janice and Darrell Moore of Lebanon, Mo., Jimmy and Linda Byrd of Bartlett, Ill., Debbie and Charles Gill of Greene and Barbara and Rick Palmer of Hartville, Mo.; 11 grandchildren, Richard and Beth Williams, Karry and Travis Smith, Doug and Chrystal Williams, Jeffrey and Jessica Palmer, Jennifer and Bart Turner, Brenda and Rich Parks, Jason and Christine Byrd, Jessica and Jim Revey, Christopher and Rachel Byrd, Andy Gill and Amanda Moore; and 12 great-grandchildren, Kaitlyn Jeter, Tanner Harval, Richard Parks, Cooper Smith, Cody Jeter, Katrina Parks, Sydney Smith, Noah Williams, Natasia Williams, Ryan Williams, Vicktorya Williams and Matthew Parks.

She was predeceased by her husband, Jimmy Riley Byrd Jr., in 1980, in Hartsville, Mo.