Untitled Document

ALBERT JOSEPH BYSINGER

( 8 Nov 1901 - Nov 1980)

Source: Personal obit file of Elsie Huntley

Funeral services for Albert J. Bysinger, 79, of 426 E. 6th St ., Milan , who died yesterday morning at Franciscan Hospital , will be held at 10 a.m. Monday in the Knox-Larson Funeral Home, Rock Island . Dr. David B. Castordale, pastor of South Park Presbyterian Church, Rock Island , will officiate. Burial will be in the Rock Island Memorial Park Cemetery .

Friends may call from 2 to 4 tomorow afternoon at the funeral home, where memorials may be made to the music department of the church. Mr. Bysinger was born Nov. 8, 1901 , in Rock Island , the son of Charles and Mary Imhof Bysinger. He had lived in Rock Island and Milan all his life. On June 30, 1937 , he married Ruth M. Nelson in Rock Island .

"Happy" Bysinger was an entertainer for a 13-year period during the late 1920s and the 1930s. He was among the first entertainers with WHBF and was known for his "down home" type of folk, cowboy and western music. His popularity spread through personal appearances, and he eventually auditioned for the Iowa Barn Dance Frolic originating from WOC raido, Davenport . He was hired and, with staff announcer Ronald "Dutch" Reagan, he was transferred to sister station WHO, Des Moines , Iowa , where the Frolic eminated from the Shirine Auditorium. His stage name became "Smilin' Sam" as he received offers from the East Coast. Among his friends were Gene Autry, George Gobel, " The Arkansas Woodchopper" and other entertainers from the Naional Barn Dance at WLS, Chicago. Due to the pressure from traveling and personal appearances

Mr. Bysinger left show business and began working at the International Harvester Works, East Moline , where he was employed for 30 years, retiring in 1965. He was a member of the South Park Presbyterian Church, a member UAW Local 1306 and a past member of the Woodman of the World Drill Team of Rock Island . Survivng are his wife; a son, David G. of Milan ; a grandson, and a sister, Mrs. Robert Hunt of Rock Island .

Submitted by Roberta Bear

Illinois Ancestors