Graduating from Ballard in 1929, he worked his way through the University of Washington delivering ice. He graduated in 1933 from the UW with a degree in journalism.

During the 1930s he held a variety of jobs, including script writing for KJR and KOMO. In 1938 he took a job at Boeing in the publications department until 1945. After a stint in the Merchant Marines, he made a commitment to remain a freelance writer, a decision which was unusual because very few writers could afford to remain self-employed.

His work appeared in Family Circle, Look, Life, Esquire, and Reader’s Digest. His column appeared regularly in The Seattle Times with a distinctive by-line. He became a charter member of the Society or American Travel Writers, and travel articles became a major part of his life. His books included Elephant Tramp and a series or This is …, these done in collaboration with photographers Bob and Ira Spring. This is Washington was the best known of these.

Byron had been a cartoonist in college, and later he began to paint in a satirical, whimsical or deliberately bizarre· He loved puns and composing humorous limericks. His sense of humor pervaded almost everything he did, but he took deadlines and commitments extremely serious. Often national publications hired him specifically because he was a freelance writer, which they felt made him unbiased.

He never really retired and continued to work well into his eighties. He taught at Seattle University and was always willing to help younger writers. He felt that the satisfaction of being a teacher was when your student didn’t need you anymore. Only failing eyesight prevented him from writing. He died on March 7, 1996.