A funeral service for Kenny Byers, 88, of Lake Park, Iowa, was held Monday, September 30, 2024, at First Presbyterian Church in Lake Park. Interment was at Silver Lake Cemetery in Lake Park.
Memorials in memory of Ken can be given to the Shriners Scholarship Memorial Fund or the Lake Park Presbyterian Church.
Kenneth Eugene Byers was born on July 28, 1936, to Dale Allen Byers and Verly Bertha Wunder in Spencer, Iowa. He was the youngest of five children. Ken grew up in Lake Park where his father’s farm stretched all the way to the Minnesota border. He attended school in Lake Park where he played football and sang in the choir. He had perfect pitch and an extraordinary baritone voice which he shared with thousands of people throughout his entire life.
After graduating high school in 1954, he went to Iowa State to study agriculture. In March of 1956, he decided to hitchhike from Ames to Milford, Iowa. He then got Kirby Range to take him to the farm for the birthday party of Marvel Jean Hughes. He finished the year of ISU and married Marvel on September 15, 1956. They lived on the farm in the tenant house and farmed with his father. In 1959, Ken and Marvel had two children, so Dale and Verly moved into Lake Park and Ken and his growing family got to move across the yard. The “little house” obviously wasn’t going to be big enough, and it was nice to have the toilet actually in the house. They raised five children in that house, Mark Allen, Scott Allen, Kent Allen, Brian Keith and Diane Lynn. They all attended Harris-Lake Park, and like Kenny, they were all involved in sports. He attended all the games and loved the competition. He could discuss most every game years later if you could remember.
Kenny loved the Vikings, Twins, Cyclones and any team that his children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren played on. He even learned that soccer is played on the pitch. He knew that it didn’t matter what the stat line read, you still had to play the game. You played the game to win and sometimes the game came with surprises.
In addition to his responsibilities on the farm, Ken started working at Berkley Fishing. After working alone on the farm, except for the 9 AM coffee at Tweet’s, Ken always looked at Berkley as an all day coffee break. There were always other people around and they soon learned to hide the rubber bands; otherwise, Kenny was going to shoot you when you walked by his machine. He was there through the change to Pure Fishing. He entered the outlet store with pride when he took his grandchildren into the place he worked.
Ken was a fixture on the Wednesday night men’s league with Bob Gunderson at the Silver Lanes Bowling Alley. He was a long-time member of the Silver Lake Country Club where he proved that you didn’t have to swing a driver to shoot a decent round of golf. In 2002, Ken and Marvel built a house in Lake Park and proceeded to wean the farming over to his son-in-law, Jeff Duis.
Ken was always up for a card game whether it be 500, Bridge, Pitch, Hucklybuck, Swoosh or a game of Muggins. If they weren’t hosting the card party, they were off to someone else’s home to play, usually twice a month, with all the kids in tow. He taught well what was meant by extended family and left many children with lots of memories and enduring friendships. The great-grandchildren loved to go to Grandpa’s and wasted no time to get the cards on the table.
Kenny loved team sports so much because of his love for God and his desire to help others. He rarely did anything for himself, but would drop everything to help others.
Ken served, at the First Presbyterian Church in Lake Park, as an officer for fifty years. He guided his children through 4-H and FFA. In 2004, Kenneth was inducted into the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame. He served on the Dickinson County Fair Board and was recognized in 2012 for his thirty-nine years of service.
He was a Mason, Shriner and an active member of the Eastern Star. In 2008, he served as the Grand Warden for the State of Iowa.
Knowing that Kenny was involved with so many people in such a wide range of activities, his children are just now hearing stories of things he did. Ken had a gift of gab and would spend time talking to anyone and everyone. He was the same Kenny to everyone, so if you talked to him twice, or knew him all your life, you knew Kenny B. He had a vast knowledge on an extremely large range of topics, but was not what you would call a know-it-all.
Last Wednesday, September 24, 2024, God sent him down the basement stairs to find the answers to all his questions and awarded him with the gift of eternal life. He ran a good race, fought a good fight and will be deeply missed by all of us whose lives he ran through on his way to heaven.
He is survived by his wife of sixty-eight years, Marvel Byers; sons, Mark (Karen) Byers, Scott Byers, Kent (Sara) Byers and his daughter, Diane (Jeff) Duis; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Ken was preceded in death by his parents, Dale and Verly Byers; siblings, Don Byers, Bill Byers, Lynn Parsons and Helen Piper; son, Brian Byers and daughter-in-law, Michelle Byers.
Turner Jenness Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
