Dennis Boyd

Dennis Boyd, 75, passed away on April 15, 2020. A celebration of life will be held at 10 a.m. July 9, at the Bismarck Municipal Ballpark. Following the celebration of life, lunch will be served. A private family burial will be held afterwards at St. Mary's Cemetery, Bismarck.

Dennis William Earl Boyd was born on February 8, 1945 at the US Naval Hospital in San Diego, California, where his father was stationed during WWII.  After his father’s discharge, the family moved to Bismarck, where Dennis lived the remainder of his life.

In his youth, he was an outstanding and talented athlete.  He played basketball for Bismarck High School for three years, leading the Demons to the State Consolation Championship his senior year.  He ran on Bismarck High School’s first cross-country team in 1962 and won the Class A individual state championship.  In the spring of 1963, he won the Class A mile run state championship.  He played Legion Baseball for four years, winning state championships in 1961 and 1963 and finished second in 1962.  Following graduation in 1963, he attended Bismarck State College, where he was awarded seven athletic letters in four sports, missing an eighth because of a serious knee injury.  Following graduation in 1965, he attended the University of North Dakota, becoming a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity.  In August 1966, he married the former Miriam Keller, and the couple eventually had three children Michael, Kristin, and Taya.  In 1967, he graduated from Valley City State University.  He continued to play amateur softball and basketball for forty years, winning fast pitch softball state championships in 1974 and 1981, and three additional state championships playing slow pitch softball.  The 1974 team was named by the ND Sportswriters as the Non-school ND Team of the year for 1974.

He taught English and coached basketball at Almont High School from 1967 – 1970, and in 1970 he began teaching at Hughes Junior High School in Bismarck, where he also coached cross-country, basketball, and track, as well as teaching behind-the-wheel driver’s education and serving as the chairman of the English Department.

In 1977, he accepted a position in the Public Affairs Department at Montana-Dakota Utilities, representing the company’s interests in the North Dakota Legislature, a position he would hold until his retirement in 2007.  He had many legislative successes, but he always felt his greatest contribution to the company was his role in establishing the MDU Resources Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm.  He was very proud to have served continuously as a Foundation officer since 1983, and at his retirement he was serving as the Foundation President.

Following his retirement, he set himself up as a contract lobbyist, and in 2011 he was retained by Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services to help secure the authorization and funding for the Western Area Water Supply Authority, which he considered one of his finest legislative accomplishments.  He loved the Legislature and made dozens of lifelong friends on both sides of the political aisle.

He was active in Republican politics, chairing state convention organizing committees four times.  He served as the chairman of the Bismarck Area Republican Council for seven years, and in 1984 he was honored to be a delegate to the National Republican Convention in Dallas, Texas.

During his career, he was active in a number of professional organizations and served on committees for the Bismarck Chamber of Commerce, the ND State Chamber of Commerce, and the ND Lignite Energy Council.  He also served on the church council at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, was a member of the Advisory Board for the ND Housing Finance Agency, and in 1984 he was selected to attend an International Institute on Politics and Economics at Haus Risen in Hamburg, Germany.  He served many years on the Board of the ND Lewis and Clark/Fort Mandan Foundation and was a board member and president of the Bismarck Historical Society.  He was a Trustee for 11 years for the Bismarck-Mandan Elks Lodge 1199.  An avid stamp collector, he was a member of the American Philatelic Society and the German Philatelic Society.

In July 2009, he married Debra McCrory.

He had a happy and productive life, particularly enjoying the activities of his children and grandchildren, and in retirement he continued his lifelong love of baseball by scheduling his daily activities around the television schedule of the New York Yankees.

He is survived by his wife Debra, and his three children Michael (Mary) Boyd, Kristin (Cory) Chorne, and Taya (Chris) Fosland.  In addition, he is survived by nine grandchildren, including Alex Boyd Finneman, Kascuandra Heiser Poitra, Tyler Richter, Tanner Richter, Tjaden Richter, Drew Fosland, Noah Fosland, Alek Fosland, and Abby Fosland; and five great-grandchildren, Kyeri Poitra, Keiera Poitra, Dom Jay Finneman, Asha Finneman, and Cooper Henry Richter; and one sister, Donna Becker, Bismarck.