Born in San Francisco in 1918, Byron Athan joined the Army in 1941 and retired in 1964 as a Lieutenant Colonel after service during World War II in the Pacific Theater and at the Pentagon. He had enrolled in law school at the University of San Francisco before the war, completed his studies while on active duty afterward, became an attorney in 1947, and moved to San Ramon in 1964. There he helped shape the area's transformation from small farming communities to incorporated cities, serving on the board of directors of the Valley Community Services District from 1966 to 1973 and as its president when voters approved a $6.7 million park bond with 73 percent of the vote. That bond funded San Ramon's first two parks, a senior center, and the San Ramon Olympic Pool, and he also helped create a park dedication fee paid by developers that supported the expanding network of community park and recreation assets in San Ramon and Dublin. He served on the committee that led to San Ramon's incorporation in 1983, then served as City Attorney from 1983 to 1995, on the City Council from 1995 to 1999, as Mayor from 1998 to 1999, again as City Attorney from 2004 to 2009, and twice as Interim City Manager. Before his death on November 25, 2009, the San Ramon City Council awarded him the title of City Attorney Emeritus for a lifetime of public service. Athan Downs, a 20-acre community park that opened in 1976 with soccer fields and later added four baseball fields, was named in honor of Byron D. Athan for his support of the park bond and his commitment to community parks and recreation; the City of San Ramon took over operations in 1988, renovated the park in 1989 and 1996, and in 2013 replaced the playground with the city's first universally accessible playground.