Byron Arnett
- Published: July 30, 2020
Byron Arnett
Byron Arnett passed away from Parkinson’s at age 74 on July 18, 2020.
Byron was born in Marion, Ohio, on November 27, 1945. He moved to Yellow Springs at age 6 from Cincinnati with his parents, Guy and Wilma, and siblings, Gary and Vicki.
Byron graduated high school in 1963, the last class to graduate from the old Bryan High School building. He attended the School of Architecture at the University of Cincinnati. His early work experiences in urban design included time at The Architects Collaborative (TAC), one of the most well-known and respected firms in the world, founded by Walter Gropius, the father of the modern Bauhaus movement, and located at Harvard. Also while in Cambridge, he worked with renowned Spanish architect Jose Luis Sert, Dean of Design at Harvard.
Byron later moved to his beloved San Francisco Bay Area to evolve his career in modern architecture and urban design. It was also there where he began his lifetime interest in cycling and birding. Byron retired to Yellow Springs in 2009, serving briefly as a member of the Township Planning Board.
Friends and family will miss his wit and charismatic personality; his storytelling and his bright mind as a self-taught computer whiz and avid reader; his penchant for maps and navigation and road trips; his deep interest in local geography and history; his appreciation for modern architectural design; and his love of birding and cycling. Byron never complained as he courageously traveled a difficult journey first with Multiple Myeloma and then with Parkinson’s.
A memorial service and celebration of Byron’s life will be held in Yellow Springs in the spring of 2021. If you are interested in attending, please contact his sister at 352-235-0894. Byron’s family would like to thank Theresa and Rick Foster for their dedication and loving care of Byron in their own home during the last two years.
For anyone wishing to honor Byron’s memory, a donation in his name can be made to the Glen Helen Raptor Center, c/o The Glen Helen Association for support of the Raptor Center, 405 Corry St., Yellow Springs, Ohio, 45387.
5 Responses to “Byron Arnett”
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Byron, have wonderful memories of working together in Cincinnati, great times in the City by the Bay including roaring around the hills on my Harley w/ you, and of course times in YS. We miss you.
Byron, I think of you each and every day. I miss you so, so much. See you in Heaven my dear friend.
I originally met Byron in Clifton swimming in the gorge east of the mill and swinging from a rope to drop into the water. I’m so glad we didn’t have helicopter parents. Byron showed up To swim with Richard Furay. I don’t know if we even introduced ourselves we just fell into conversation or I might have encouraged him to swing and drop into the water. Several months later we met at a YS – Cedarville basketball game and were interested in each other. In possibly his first attempt to date me he decide to drive to Cedarville one Sunday afternoon when there had been a slight snow fall and temperature below freezing resulting in slick roads. His parents said he could drive the car that afternoon but he couldn’t drive out of town (like not to Cedarville to visit me). Well as a typical young person he drove to Cedarville, safely, but driving home was a different matter. He didn’t make it home because he crashed the car just north of the cemetery on the north side of Cedarville. He called me a day or two later to tell me and I think he also said he was grounded…Decades later a friends ran into Byron in a Mexican Resturant in Xenia and told me (I had been living in Texas for decades) that they ran into him. Im back in Ohio several times a year so I tried to find him. I thought we could have a good laugh. I was in Ohio when I saw that he passed away. I’m happy to hear from Steve Grinnell’s comment that the world is a better place because of Byron. This reminds me and maybe others that life is short regardless of how long you live. RIP
I miss you so much Byron. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me. Until we meet again, I love you bunches. Theresa
RIP Byron.
Our world is better because of your life.