Allen native and descendant of pioneer families Kenneth (Ken) Ray Byler of Allen, Texas, passed away on July 17, 2025, at the age of 91. A celebration of life is planned for Saturday, August 30th at 3 p.m. at the Allen Christian Church, located in Allen Heritage Village, 450 E. St. Mary Dr.
In 2024, the Collin County Historical Commission awarded the Living Legacy award to Ken. His achievement as an individual citizen of Collin County who has significantly enriched cultural heritage through a lifetime of dedicated service to the ideals of preservation, education and respect of the county’s rich past was recognized.
Ken was known in the community as a writer and historian with an unsurpassed knowledge of the City of Allen and Collin County. In 2015, he was selected by Texas State Representative Jodie Laubenberg, (District 89 in Collin County, Jan. 2003 - Jan. 2018), to be included in the Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History’s “The Texas Story Project” as a Collin County writer and storyteller. Ken has written several novellas, magazine articles and essays on the Southwest and most recently he has written a weekly opinion column for several weekly newspapers including the Allen American. These stories are now all captured on The Portal to Texas History in the Allen American newspapers that have been placed there.
Artists without formal training, who learned from family, community, and personal journeys, have long been a presence in American art, and local artist Ken Byler was no exception. Ken Byler painted architectural structures, natural landscapes and nostalgic scenes of Texas and the Southwest.
The son of Ray and Marzee Byler, Ken was raised on the Ingram farm--Cottonwood Bend--which had been in the family for three generations. During the Depression, family members that lost their farms or jobs took refuge on the Ingram farm. Ken described it “an island of comfort in a river of misery. Ken was the only Allenite who can declare that both parents and grandparents could call Allen their home.
Ken is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Klay and Tarsy Byler; his son, Keith Byler; his grandson and granddaughter-in-law, Ryan and Karla Byler; his granddaughter, Brooke Byler; and his great-grandchildren, Holly, Evelyn, Victor, Dallas, Ryder, and Brayson. He is also survived by his sisters, Betty Ann Byler and Judy Reyna, and his sister and brother-in-law, Karen and Bruce Anderson. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy; his daughter, Carol Byler; his sister, Shirley Kay Byler; his brother, Dave Byler; and his parents, Ray and Margie Byler.
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