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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