Daniel Bruce Bynum

Searcy Funeral Home and Crematory, 1301 Neal Metcalf Road, Enterprise, AL 36330

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Posted by: MikeThompson
[email protected]
334-393-2273 or 334-347-2517
Date: Mar 27 2024 11:22 AM

Daniel Bruce Bynum, known to everyone as “Dan” passed away unexpectedly on March 21, 2024, working in a field of sapling pine trees he had planted.  Dan was born December 31, 1952, in Enterprise, Alabama, the son of the late John Franklin Bynum and Mazie Lee Bynum. 

Dan enjoyed a childhood reflecting the virtues of living in a small southern town, with a circle of durable friendships and a large extended family.  He was a gifted student, elected as President of the Alabama National Honor Society, and he was also a gifted musician.  He played tenor saxophone in the Enterprise High School Band and was the lead guitarist in a rock ‘n roll band he helped form with friends.  After becoming an Eagle Scout and graduating from high school, he attended Birmingham-Southern College.  Following graduation from Birmingham-Southern in 1974, he continued his education earning a Master of Music degree from Florida State University in 1976, and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Auburn University in 1978. 

Dan joined Klipsch Speaker Company in Hope, Arkansas in 1978, where he became Manager of Engineering.  While working there, he successfully passed the exam to become a Professional Engineer in 1983.   In 1991, he moved to Dearborn, Michigan to work as a Product Design Engineer for Ford Motor Company.  He retired from Ford Motor Company in 1999, and he moved back to the Enterprise area to pursue an independent life on the Bynum family’s beloved Beaver Dam Farm.  Dan took great pride in his mostly self-constructed house and music studio as well as the stewardship of his land.  He personally planted, cultivated, and harvested thousands of trees and devoted his retirement years to tree farming.

During Dan’s college and working life, he still carved out time for biking and camping and music.  He spent three weeks camping in the Cumberland Mountains with college friends and was joined by his dogs Alsatia and Porky on many hiking and camping trips along the Appalachian Trail.  Other camping trips took him to Ouachita Trail and National Forest in Arkansas and Oklahoma and as far as Big Horn National Forest in Wyoming.   However, Dan was never far from his guitar.  After moving back to Enterprise, he was always ready to pick up his guitar and join friends to jam at local venues and make concert performances for local audiences.  Dan lived and died on his own terms, intensely protective of his dreams and independence, creating music for family legacy. 

Dan was predeceased by his parents, Frank and Mazie Bynum, as well as his brother Steve.  He is survived by his brother Joe (Jane), nieces Amy Griffin and Lilly Smith (Matt), nephew Parker Bynum (Simone), and many cousins.

The family is grateful to Dan’s neighbors, especially Harold Wright, and to Dan’s Tuesday lunch group who provided Dan with a sense of inclusion, good fellowship, much laughter, and a healthy distraction from living and working in isolation on his farm. 

A gathering of Dan’s close friends and family to celebrate his life and share a few stories will be scheduled at a future date. 

You may sign the register book or send condolences to the family at our website:   www.searcyfuneralhome.com .

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