By Kimberly Gasuras

Forty-five-year-old Shannon Byrum may have lost his life in a motorcycle crash on Sunday evening, but the Bucyrus man will live on in the memories and hearts of his many family members and friends.

Shannon’s daughter, Amber Johns, said she will miss so much about her dad, it was hard to narrow it down to what she would miss the most.

“I think what I’ll remember the most about him is his hugs. He gave the best bear hugs. He would squeeze me up and hold me and tell me how much he loved me,” said Johns. “I’ll never forget those hugs and I would do anything to hug him one more time.”

Shannon lived across the street from Micki Hillman on Lane Street.

“He was the best neighbor. When he knew I was here by myself, he would check on me. He would cook and bring me food and I did the same for him. I miss him so much,” said Hillman.

Tim Dye has put a call out to all motorcycle riders that attend Shannon’s memorial service on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Munz-Pirnstill Funeral Home to fire up their bikes loud enough to shake the heavens as a salute to their fallen brother.

“Shannon would never let you leave without getting a great big bear hug and he always said love you brother,” said Dye.

While Erin Fogle said she will never forget Shannon’s smile, Heather Massey said Shannon would give one of his famous bear hugs just when you needed it the most.

Shannon loved his Harley Davidson motorcycle but even more important to him was his music. He played in several bands in Ohio, Arizona and other states over the years and many local musicians had a chance to jam with him, like Jay Brown.

“Man oh man, I remember way back Shannon and I worked together out west and the things we did for laughs,” said Brown. “I also jammed with him many, many times throughout the years. Always loved that dude.”

Shawn Lantz is a cousin of Shannon’s.

“I will miss him and I hope he is riding free in heaven,” Lantz said.

Tracye Belcher is also a cousin to Shannon.

“We have a lot of memories but the most important one was he was not only the best cousin and a very talented man, he had the biggest heart for anyone. He could always bring you back up when you were down,” said Belcher.

Leeann Grau is a cousin of Shannon’s very best friend, Todd Peppard, who died in 2004 of cancer.

“I really got to know Shannon when my cousin brought him along to my daughter’s graduation party back in 1999. He sang karaoke, of course old country, and my grandpa loved every minute of it. He literally talked about it for months on how good of a singer he was,” said Grau.

Grau said she was fortunate to get to spend some time with Shannon during this year’s Bratwurst Festival.

“Whenever I would run into Shannon I would get a Big Bear Byrum Hug and we would catch up quickly on how we were doing and what was going on in life. Then very seriously he would ask, really, how are you doing and do you need anything? I always knew that he honestly meant that and felt if I ever needed anything he would do whatever he could do to help out,” Grau said. “Then, like clockwork, you could count on it, he would say how my cousin took a part of him with him when he passed and how much he misses that guy. We would reminisce and share memories and it was therapeutic for both of us.”

Dave Miller enjoyed a nice conversation with Shannon the day of the fateful crash that took his life.

“When I saw him, he would give me a hug. Then I gave him a hard time. Then he gave me a hug,” said Miller.

Laina Vanbuskirk said Shannon had a great sense of humor.

“His Farmer Gene imitations were epic,” said Jason Gearhart.

Cain Leuthold said that he loves the funny things Shannon would say.

“Like when he would say, ‘I’ll be on you like rust on a pump handle,’” Leuthold said.

Tanya Rarick Reber will remember Shannon for having such a big heart for others and Nik Fogle said he always enjoyed listening to Hillbilly Shoe by Montgomery Gentry at his mom’s house back in the day.

“Shannon would always sing it,” said Fogle.

Tonya Raifsnider is the mother of Shannon’s daughter and was with him for over 20 years.

“There are many memories good and bad. The good in the early years was who he truly was, and would do anything for anybody, and loved to make people laugh,” said Raifsnider. “He was a big teddy bear, and his love for his music was by far the most important thing in his life, along with his friends.”

Rick Harris said he can’t pick out just one thing about Shannon that he will remember.

“I grew up with his brother Russ so I have known Shannon most of his life. He was a good and loyal friend, whom I was proud to call, “brother.” He is going to be missed,” said Harris.

A memorial dinner and celebration of Shannon’s life will be held at the Wren’s Nest on Saturday immediately following the memorial service at Munz-Pirnstill.

Donations can be made through the funeral home to help offset funeral expenses for the family of Shannon.