ATHENS — The audience is abuzz as an anticipated show star appears.
As “Joy To The World” is played by dozens of musicians at the Athens Symphony, Santa Claus moves up and down the aisles, shaking hands with adults and caressing children.
Jolly Ole Saint. Nick ultimately takes off his coat and settles down on a bench. For more than an hour, from the end of the concert to an encore and well after the music stops, he meets with children who sit on his lap and voice their Christmas wishes.
The grand entrance has been a highlight of the Classic Center’s annual two-show weekend in mid-December for almost a decade.
Three years ago, however, Santa was unable to attend. Jonathan Byrd, 66, of nearby Watkinsville, was diagnosed with cancer just before the holiday season. He wore a crimson coat with white fur trim and jingling boots.
Hugs and his funny remarks, which he used to gain children’s trust, were gone by December. Instead, Byrd faced a dozen rounds of chemotherapy and a life-saving surgery.
“We were going to do what we could, let God take care of the rest of it, and it would be what it would be,” he tells me.
Credit: Contributed by Athens Symphony
Byrd has had a lengthy beard for decades and always fantasized about dressing up as the Big Red Guy. An encounter with a Santa Claus lookalike in the early 2000s gave Byrd, a longtime plumber and construction safety teacher, the instruction he needed to take on the role: bleach.
“My beard, mustache, hair, eyebrows — it was a 9-hour day at the shop,” said the man. “It was all bleached four times and then toner was put in.”
Byrd claims he is not the type of Santa Claus that operates a picture assembly line. He wants to interact with them, chat to them, and have fun. He claims he takes too long with each youngster to earn any money.
He frequently takes his coat and cap off. This, he believes, makes him less intimidating. He angles for laughter. When a child wants to sit on one knee, he may suggest that one is broken and that the other should be used instead. He plays the role at church, a pet grooming store, and the symphony, where he is not the only draw.
“You have to take the pictures as you get them,” he tells me, “because I’m not the one that’s going to sit there with a grin on my face until the kids finally look.”
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Byrd was diagnosed with COVID-19 in the fall of 2021. Then his wife realized that he had jaundice. According to the National Cancer Institute, pancreatic cancer is the third highest cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
Dr. Charles Bodine, who treated Byrd, believes that the pancreas’ position adjacent to the stomach, liver, and gallbladder tract makes early cancer identification difficult. “Unfortunately, by the time we get it diagnosed, they’re typically more advanced.”
Byrd called his regular stops as Santa. They needed to book another guy, he explained. The Athens Symphony determined that if Byrd was not available, there would be no Santa.
“There was no question,” says Dick Hudson, the orchestra’s executive director. “He looks more like Santa than Santa.”
Byrd’s emotions were on full display during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in November. He still didn’t have a treatment plan. He was uncertain about his future.
“I had a meltdown,” he explains. “Here I was looking at my favorite time of year, not being able to do what I wanted to do.”
Byrd’s parents both had cancer. His father battled liver cancer for 12 years, so Byrd understood the mentality required for the struggle.
Following rounds of chemotherapy, he underwent a Whipple procedure to remove sections of his pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. Surgery was supposed to take seven hours. “I ended up on the table for 14,” Byrd recalls.
Following the procedure, doctors declared Byrd cancer-free and administered extra rounds of chemotherapy to complete his treatment.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com.
As the Christmas season of 2022 neared, Byrd prepared to resume his job as Santa, with the Athens Symphony serving as a key milestone in his recuperation.
He appeared on stage to huge cheers, and he felt like himself again, yet there was a reminder of what he’d been through.
“I had lost a lot of weight during treatment, so when I stepped down off the stage I about lost my belt,” remembers the singer. “I had to walk around holding my belt up because it was about to come off.”
On Wednesday, a few days after his symphonic performances, Byrd returned to the University Cancer & Blood Center in Athens. Blood tests revealed that he is remained cancer-free. Doctors suggested he return in six months rather than the normal four-month test regimen.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com.
After his examination, Byrd dressed as Santa and visited patients receiving infusions for cancer and blood-related disorders. Carol Drake grinned at Byrd’s jokes in the lobby and stated that she wasn’t “sure which list” she was on this year.
He informed patient Angela Whitehead that he hoped he had created saline that tasted and smelled like bourbon to alleviate treatment adverse effects. Whitehead laughed. She and Byrd shared experiences about their cancer battles.
“There is life in spite of chemo,” he jokes. “It really is what you make of it.”