Tyras Snowden "Bunk" Athey (March 30, 1927 – July 20, 2010) was an American politician from Maryland.

Athey's parents owned and operated a country grocery store, he was born and raised in Burtonsville, Maryland.

His grandfather nicknamed him "Bunk" after a popular 1920s comic strip character.

After graduating from Montgomery Blair High School in 1945, he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving in World War II as a corpsman aboard the USS Consolation, a hospital ship.

During this time, his committee passed legislation giving fiscal relief to the Maryland thoroughbred racing industry in the form of decreased handles and tax breaks.