Unexpected death has Favre heading home

[GBRulz]

Read this on Favre's site, posted by David, his pilot.

Brett Favre has been excused from practice to return home. Deanna Favre called Brett with the bad news that "Rocky" passed away. Rocky was Ann's husband. (Deanna mom) Rocky suffered a massive heart attack in Hattiesburg Saturday evening. Rocky was a wonderful person and will be missed. Please say a prayer for Ann. Brett was very sad to hear the news. He spent hours everyday working on the property with Rocky. Over the years Rocky was a familiar face around the Favre compound and a enjoyable person to be with.

Just spoke with Brett. He will leave Green Bay Monday morning to attend the funeral. Will be back first thing Thursday morning.

[Jimx29]

major suckage :(

[Brando19]

Very sad. It said Deanna's mothers husband...I wonder if it was her real father or if she remarried?

[BEARMAN]

Condolences (sp), ... My family's prayers go out to the Farve family.

[MJZiggy]

What (sp)? That whole post was spelled perfectly. And stated very nicely too.

May he rest in peace.

[retailguy]

Very sad. It said Deanna's mothers husband...I wonder if it was her real father or if she remarried?

The way it was described suggests that it was NOT Deanna's father, I'd think

[Rastak]

Very sad. It said Deanna's mothers husband...I wonder if it was her real father or if she remarried?

The way it was described suggests that it was NOT Deanna's father, I'd think

Kinda, I was wondering too...either way, it's a bummer for the family. How old was this guy?

[GBRulz]

By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com

Brett Favre probably will miss a day or two of Green Bay Packers’ practices this week to attend the funeral of a close in-law, said a source close to Favre.


Rocky Byrd, the second husband of Favre’s mother-in-law, died of a heart attack on Saturday in Mississippi. Rocky lived on Brett and Deanna Favre’s estate in Hattiesburg, Miss., with Deanna’s mother, Ann Byrd.

Favre missed practice Sunday morning while arranging with his wife his schedule for the next several days. He probably will fly to Mississippi on Tuesday and return perhaps Thursday night or Friday morning. With that schedule he would miss two practices Tuesday, no practices with the players off Wednesday, and perhaps two practices Thursday.

“The logistics and when he’s going to be here and when he’s not going to be here, I don’t know if we’re there yet,” General Manager Ted Thompson said late Sunday morning.

Though Rocky Byrd was not Deanna’s father, he was close to the Favres and often helped Brett with his offseason work maintaining his property and also occasionally catching passes for Favre’s offseason throwing.

Coach Mike McCarthy said Favre would have taken part in both practices Sunday if he hadn’t been attending to his personal business in the morning, though the Packers are closely monitoring his throwing to prevent the shoulder soreness returning that cropped up at the end of the organized-team activities practices in June.

McCarthy had talked to Favre this summer about possibly taking part only in the night practices, which are conducted in full pads, on the days when the team works out twice in training camp. Favre has balked at that kind of set program in the past but has rested the occasional practice.

“He’s hard to set a schedule to be frank,” McCarthy said. “We talked about one a day last year, and as you know he practiced most of the two-a-days. So, we’ll really just see how he feels.”

[Rastak]

Sounds like a real depressing deal for those involved.

[retailguy]

Bad things plague everyone, but he seems to have had more than his fair share the last few years.

Wonder how many people live on that "estate"?

[GBRulz]

After Katrina, they had as many as 70 people staying there. I think a few might still be there while their homes are being rebuilt.

[Rastak]

After Katrina, they had as many as 70 people staying there. I think a few might still be there while their homes are being rebuilt.


Kudos to Favre for helping folks out....just because he has the means doesn't mean he has to do it.

[GBRulz]

yeah, Brett and Deanna have huge hearts when it comes to helping out others. I don't think others living outside of WI or MS really know how much time and money they give to various organizations. Unfortunately, I guess it's not as interesting for reporters to write about because there is nothing controversial about it.

BTW, Ras... congrats on #4000 !! Your Viking friends would be proud :lol:

[the_idle_threat]

His Viking friends have probably disowned him for spending so much time on an "enemy" forum. :twisted:

Too bad for them, and a good thing for us.

Congrats on #4000, Ras. Do I need to resurrect the trophy thread? :D

[HarveyWallbangers]

Congrats! 4000 is a big one, but the 5000 club is even better.
:D

EDIT: F***! I'm about to hit the 6000 club. Thankfully, Ziggy is here.
:D

[Rastak]

Thanks guys! Truth is, most of my posts are railing against Vick or live threads where the posts rack up quick. I must have had a 1000 this years draft. Either way, this is a very cool forum and the only reason I hang out here.

[MJZiggy]

Congrats! 4000 is a big one, but the 5000 club is even better.
:D

EDIT: F***! I'm about to hit the 6000 club. Thankfully, Ziggy is here.
:D

If I can't contribute to the working world the least I can do is make your post count look more respectable...

[retailguy]

Thanks guys! Truth is, most of my posts are railing against Vick or live threads where the posts rack up quick. I must have had a 1000 this years draft. Either way, this is a very cool forum and the only reason I hang out here.

That and the fact that you are a Packer fan.... :P :wink:

[Rastak]

Thanks guys! Truth is, most of my posts are railing against Vick or live threads where the posts rack up quick. I must have had a 1000 this years draft. Either way, this is a very cool forum and the only reason I hang out here.

That and the fact that you are a Packer fan.... :P :wink:


Yea, the $1000 I spent on Vikings season tickets was just a diversion from the truth..... :roll:


:wink:

[GBRulz]

People actually pay for those things ? :wow: :lol:

[retailguy]

Thanks guys! Truth is, most of my posts are railing against Vick or live threads where the posts rack up quick. I must have had a 1000 this years draft. Either way, this is a very cool forum and the only reason I hang out here.

That and the fact that you are a Packer fan.... :P :wink:


Yea, the $1000 I spent on Vikings season tickets was just a diversion from the truth..... :roll:


:wink:

Hey, I understand, you've got to keep up the appearance.... That's important you know! If your family finds out the real truth you could get committed for 72 hours... :P

[Scott Campbell]

Thanks guys! Truth is, most of my posts are railing against Vick or live threads where the posts rack up quick. I must have had a 1000 this years draft. Either way, this is a very cool forum and the only reason I hang out here.

That and the fact that you are a Packer fan.... :P :wink:


Yea, the $1000 I spent on Vikings season tickets was just a diversion from the truth..... :roll:


:wink:


Just the price of denial.....

[GrnBay007]

Posted July 31, 2007

Favre opens up on life, loss

By Larry Weisman
Gannett News Service

Wins and losses matter in the course of his profession. But once again, Brett Favre finds himself more concerned with life and loss.

He barely had arrived in Northeastern Wisconsin for his 16th training camp with the Green Bay Packers, had practiced just once with his teammates on Saturday afternoon when an equipment manager interrupted a meeting to tell him he had an emergency phone call.

He knew. He knew right then. He'd had phone calls like this before.

It was his wife, Deanna, calling from their home in Hattiesburg, Miss. Her stepfather, Rocky Byrd, was dead of a heart attack at the age of 56.

"It's never not a shock," Favre said in an exclusive interview with USA Today before he left Green Bay for the viewing in Gulfport, Miss., on Monday and the funeral today. "In our case, it's always been unexpected."

There was his father's sudden death of a heart attack at 58 on Dec. 21, 2003, a day before the Packers were to play a Monday night game in Oakland. Then, Deanna's brother's passing as the result of an accident involving an all-terrain vehicle in the fall of 2004, followed a week later by her diagnosis of breast cancer. Then came the destruction of his mother's home by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Now Byrd, with whom Favre formed a deep bond over the last 10 years.

Byrd and Deanna's mother, Ann, lived in a house on the Favres' 465 acres, and Byrd managed the grounds, bought the supplies for all that work and often cooked breakfast as well. He and Favre spent hours every day riding the property.

"I know most people will see something like this and say, 'Well, it's not a real close family member,' but I was as close to him as I was to my dad, probably closer in the sense of being able to tell him things I didn't tell my dad," Favre said. "I saw him every day. He was as close to me as anybody else down there, because I spent so much time with him, working together and taking care of the place."

"I probably spent more time on the phone with him than anyone else."

Favre got the news on Saturday night. The three-time NFL Most Valuable Player did not practice with the team on Sunday morning but joined the evening workout before leaving one family — the Packers — for another, his and Deanna's. He says he should be better at handling this, considering how often he has had to do it.

"To be honest with you, I would rather stay away," he said. "I was the same way with Dad. I hated to go home. I knew I had to, but I hated to. I didn't want to see him in a casket, and I didn't want to remember him that way. I didn't even go to the wake. At the funeral, I walked up and peeked and never looked again. I'm not good at that, not that anyone ever is. I've never been good at it."

When Irvin Favre died late in 2003, his son honored the memory of the man who also was his high school football coach by passing for 399 yards and four touchdowns in a blowout of the Raiders. Even Oakland's notorious fans cheered the quarterback's teary grit.

"I knew dad would want me to play, I knew that was not really the question. The question was: Am I just going to play and stink it up? I had forgotten everything we studied that week. I just went blank. And in warmups, my throws were off and I kept thinking, 'What a mistake,'" Favre said. "But with the help of others, I got through it. The game is a good way to escape. It's a tough way, but it's a good way for me.

"If you haven't been in that situation, you maybe can't understand it. But you have to focus or they're going to knock your ass off or you're going to stink it up, and most athletes have a lot of pride, want to play well and are willing to do almost anything to do that."

Training camp and practice in no way resemble an important late-season game during a hectic playoff chase. Favre, 37, knows he will return to Green Bay on Wednesday night, to the mundane routine of training camp. There's no refuge in that, no place to hide.

"When I called my mom the other night to tell her about Rocky, she said, 'I was just praying that regardless of wins and losses, you would have a fun year.' Not that that can't happen, but it's not really starting off on the right foot," he said. "I worked my tail off this offseason, got myself ready, felt good about where I was, and now …

"I consider myself as mentally tough as anybody, but at times like this, I question it. Things like this are humbling. Sometimes we think that the only thing is our job, and then you get blindsided and wake up. It's not fun."

Larry Weisman writes for USA Today.