Aberdeen Town Commissioner Ken Byrd passed away suddenly Wednesday.
Byrd, 66, was appointed to the town’s planning board serving three years before being elected in 2015 as a town commissioner.
He graduated in 1970 from Cocoa Beach High School in Florida and graduated from The Citadel in 1974.
Byrd was a retired Air Force Colonel with a military career that spanned 30 years. He deployed to Desert Shield/Storm, and when he returned from Desert Storm, he was assigned to the Pentagon.
After his military retirement, Byrd became a consultant, working with the Homeland Security and Threat and Vulnerability Assessment arena in the post 9-11 environment.
Byrd promised his Aberdeen native wife, Becky, they would move to North Carolina after his retirement, eventually settling in Aberdeen.
He ran last year in the N.C. House of Representatives’ primary race and lost to state Rep. Jamie Boles.
Byrd is survived by his wife, four children, and several grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending and will be announced by Crumpler Funeral Home of Aberdeen.
Feature photo: Ken Byrd at Monday’s Town Council Meeting ~ Chris Prentice/Sandhills Sentinel.
