He was a versatile, distinguished, well-rounded individual.

To many, Dr. Howard Cyr Jr., DDS, was the true personification of a Renaissance man.

A husband, father, and grandfather, Cyr, 84, of Palmerton, was beloved by not only family, but all those whose lives he impacted on his passage through life.

After a lengthy illness, Cyr passed away Tuesday morning in his home.

He was the husband and life partner of Mary E. "Honey" (O'Halloran) Cyr since Oct. 3, 1959.

Katie Pascali, one of Cyr's two daughters, reflected on a conversation she had many years ago when she was 10 years old.

"I was at the Palmerton swimming pool one day and some woman asked me who I was, and I told her I was Howard Cyr's daughter, and she said your dad was like a Renaissance man," Pascali said. "I quickly went home and looked up the definition; it epitomized my dad because he had a lot of knowledge, knew a little bit of everything."

Pascali said one of her father's most endearing qualities was that he treated people fairly.

"Every person to him was equal; he treated everybody equally, he always found a common ground to discuss with them," she said. "He was always interested in no matter what they had to say, no matter where they came from."

His son Billy posted a tribute on Facebook. "He strived to build long lasting insfrastructure for that town so that it could maintain the strength and character of the community in which he grew up. No project was too big or too small for him - too detailed or too complex. He methodically worked to make Palmerton a better place."

He added that he did it all with humility. "One would never know that the guy wearing the beat up army jacket, wool cap and badly worn ski pants - and driving a 10-plus-year-old Chevy Surburban - was an intensely bright, Princeton-educated Penn-trained dentist."