Kenneth Hovey
Aug. 2, 1946-May 5, 2021
Kenneth “Ken” Oscar
Hovey, an avid fisherman,
golfer and all-around han-
dyman, died on May 5,
2021 in Bismarck, ND. He
was 74. He passed away
peacefully, after a heroic
battle against cancer, sur-
rounded by his loving
family.
Ken, a resident of
Parshall, ND, was born in
Minot on August 02, 1946
to Oscar Morris Hovey
and Mona Lorraine Rue
Hovey. Ken was born
prematurely and started
life on the small side, but
he didn’t stay that way for
long. Nurtured on his
family farm in rural
Parshall, he went on to
become a quiet, but out-
sized presence in the lives
of those lucky enough to
know him.
After he graduated from
Parshall High School in
1964, Ken joined the Navy
where he served as a radio
operator on the USS Saint
Paul. During his service,
he travelled throughout
the Pacific and deployed
in operations in Vietnam.
Upon completing his mili-
tary service, he returned
to North Dakota where he
farmed, worked in
heavy-equipment opera-
tion, on the oil patch and
in trucking. He was active
in Parshall’s American Le-
gion and, in recent years,
worked at the Parshall
Golf Course, where he en-
joyed maintaining the
grounds and playing a few
rounds of golf.
Family was the center
of Ken’s life. When he was
younger, he enjoyed noth-
ing better than heading
out with his brother Odell
for a long ride on their
Harleys. Throughout the
years, he spent long hours
fishing (and drinking
beer) on Lake Sakakawea
with his cousins Steve
and Mike Hovey. He
played endless rounds of
golf with Roger Hovey
and his brother-in-law
Darryl Keller and he en-
joyed tinkering in the
garage with his nephew
Mike Keller while sipping
a Jack and Coke. The holi-
days were a particularly
fun time for Ken–he was
always happy to whip up
a Tom and Jerry, join in a
card game, work on a puz-
zle, or sample some apple
pie.
Ken is survived by his
sister, Linda Hovey Keller
(Bismarck), his brother,
Odell Hovey (Phoenix,
AZ), several nieces and
nephews, countless
cousins, and many good
friends. Ken was especial-ly thankful for the friend-
ship and support of Steve
and Melissa Hovey during
his illness.
Preceded in death by
his parents, his sister,
Mary Reynolds, his
cousin, Michael Hovey
and his brother-in-law,
Darryl Keller.
A memorial service is
planned for May 24, 2021
at 1:00 pm at Lucky
Mound Lutheran Church
in rural Parshall. In lieu
of flowers, the family re-
quests donations to the
Lucky Mound Lutheran
Church Cemetery Fund.
Ken had a strong in-
dependent streak as any-
one who made the mis-
take of trying to boss him
around soon found out.
He was fiercely loyal and
freely gave of his time and
energy — whether it was
taking care of his mother
in her later years, expertly
flipping lefse at the
family’s annual
pre-Christmas bake-off or
teaching his niece to drive
a stick-shift–there was
nothing he would not do
for family or friends, all
you had to do was ask.
Those wishing to sign
the online guestbook or
leave a message of con-
dolence please go to
www.bismarckfuneral
home.com