Byler, Joe E. (1952-2010)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2010 Mar 29 p. 9

Birth date: 1952 Jul 20

text of obituary:

JOE E. BYLER

Joe E. Byler, 57, of Euless, Texas, died March 19, 2010. He was born July 20, 1952, at the Mennonite Central Committee Hospital in La Plata, Puerto Rico, to Delmar Byler and Bonnie (Welty) Byler.

He was raised in Hesston and Wichita, Kan., Oklahoma City and Hong Kong. He graduated from high school in Tenalfy, N.J., and attended Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa. He served in Korea as a medic in the U.S. Army in drug and alcohol counseling. He graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. His career settled in insurance as a liability claims adjustor. Among his clients were many sports teams.

When he heard that a tornado had struck Hesston in 1990, he exclaimed, “That’s my hometown!” He left his work in Dallas to spend a week helping the devastated fill out their insurance applications.

Surviving family members include his wife, Laurel (Metzler) Byler of Euless; a stepdaughter, Megan Button of Ames, Iowa; his mother, Bonnie Scheid; a sister, Jeanne (Byler) Mitchell; a brother, John Byler; a foster sister, Johanna Hon; his stepfather, Bob Scheid; his stepmother, Karen Byler; and his parents-in-law, Doris and David Metzler.

He was preceded in death by his father, Delmar Byler; his grandparents, J.N. Byler (director of relief for MCC and teacher at Hesston College) and Edna Ruth Byler (the “needlework lady” and founder of Ten Thousand Villages) and Idell (McFarlane) Welty and G.M. Welty.

Funeral services were held at Moore Funeral Home, Arlington, Texas. Burial was at DFW National Cemetery.