Floyd Dean Hyde
Floyd Dean Hyde, a retired Lab machinist, died in Livermore Jan. 27. He was 91.
Born Feb. 18, 1920, in Couvers Crossing, Youngsville, Pa., to Percy and Florence Hyde, he entered the U.S. Navy in 1938.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Hyde was aboard the destroyer USS Helm returning state side to be discharged when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, at the start of World War II. The USS Helm, already under way, was the first ship to make it out of the harbor on that infamous day. Hyde spent the rest of the war on the USS Helm and was discharged from the U. S. Navy in 1946 with the rank of chief water tender.
That November he married his hometown sweetheart, Carolyn York, who lived five houses away. They moved to San Diego in 1956 and then to Livermore in 1959, where he worked for LLNL as a machinist. After retirin,g he moved to Bella Vista, Calif. and became a locksmith, operating his own business. He moved back to Livermore in 2008.
Hyde enjoyed riding motorcycles and going to motorcycle races and was a member of the Livermore Motorcycle Club. When he gave up motorcycles, he returned to riding horses and was a member of the Ranch Riders. He spent many weekends on trail rides and took part in the memorial ride of the De Anza expedition.
His other hobbies included reading, watching car races and collecting medical books and cookbooks. At 91 he renewed another interest, drawing, and was taking art lessons.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Percy and Florence Hyde; daughter, Christine Hyde; and wife, Carolyn.
He is survived by his daughters and son-in-laws, Lee and Charles Hartz of Livermore, Linda and Dan Moniz of Newman, Calif., and Amber and Blain Alton of Livermore; six grandchildren, Jesse Hartz and wife Kate and Jamie Hartz, Stacy and Jason Moniz, Tiffany and Shaun Barr; and five great-grandchildren.
Services were held Feb. 9 at the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Santa Nella, Calif. In lieu of flowers donations, may be made to the Veterans of Foreign Wars or a charity of choice.
