Richard E. Dick Karlgaard

Richard Earl "Dick" Karlgaard, 83, Bismarck, who died on February 7, in Bismarck, was widely known in North Dakota. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm Sunday, February 12, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Bismarck, with Rev. Steve Sathre officiating. Burial will be at 10:00 am Monday, February 13, at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Cremation has taken place. He was a multi-sport athlete in high school and college. He made the North Dakota all-state high school football team while at Bismarck High School, and won the most valuable player award at the 1945 American Legion state baseball tournament. A graduate of Jamestown College, Dick coached several sports before becoming the Bismarck Public School system's first director of athletics and physical education in 1962. By the time of his retirement in 1990, had had managed 81 state high school tournaments and playoffs. During his career, Dick was twice named national high school athletic director of the year. Dick was also known as the voice of North Dakota high school sports for his work as a public address announcer. Dick's legacy to those who knew him will be his trusting faith, love of family and loyalty. He encouraged his children to follow their talents and passions and supported them without fail. His love of family included the community. As expressed by Greg Rohde, a star track and cross country runner for Bismarck Century High School in the late 1970s: "Dick Karlgaard was a giant in North Dakota athletics. In a very positive way, he touched the lives of thousands of kids, like me, who grew up in the Bismarck school system. His work had such an impact on the quality of life for kids and families in Bismarck and around the entire state of North Dakota by making quality sports available to everyone. Hearing his voice announce my name as I ran around the Hughes Field track will stick with me as among the greatest memories I will ever have. He was a great man and his impact on many others will live on. He was a model of integrity and service that has inspired me my entire life." Dick was born in Fargo on May 20, 1928, to Rasmus and Edna nee Qualley Karlgaard, both immigrants from Norway. The family moved to Bismarck a few years later. Rasmus was a typesetter at the Bismarck Tribune and the family lived in a small house on South 15th Street. Dick's first memories were of growing up in the 1930s. "You could see a double feature movie for a dime and buy a hamburger for a nickel," he liked to say. The neighborhood of Dick's Depression youth was rough. "The four houses north of ours had fathers who were in prison," he said. As an only child, Dick was often bullied. A form of escape emerged when his father Rasmus built a basketball backboard for Dick and hung it on the garage. Rasmus, not an athlete himself or even much of a fan, was a stern Norwegian who made Dick shoot baskets daily. Dick's first date with his wife Pat nee Hook, also of Bismarck, was on January 1, 1953. They eloped to Billings, Mont., that summer. "My father wasn't happy," Pat recalled. "He was a mathematics teacher at Bismarck Junior College and he wanted me to finish college." Dick and Pat eventually went off to the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, He earned a masters and she an undergraduate degree. At UND, Dick got serious about academics, he said, for the first time. He would later complete most of his Ph.D. work without getting that degree. To support a growing family of three children, Dick supplemented his teaching and coaching salaries with a variety of summer jobs. One of them caused his family some worry: Dick coached baseball at the North Dakota State Penetentiary. "Inside the walls, they're not bad guys," he said. Dick's career turning point occurred in 1962. He asked Bismarck school superintendent, T. E. Simile, to create a new job, that of athletic director. Dick would hold that job, and succeed to the point of state and national acclaim, during the next 38 years. After his retirement in 1990, Dick kept busy as a public address announcer for the next decade. He took the microphone at hundreds of football games and basketball tournaments but always said his favorite sport to announce was the state high school track meet. In 1991 he had the thrill of announcing his son Joe's win in the Class A boy's 800 meter run. One of Dick and Pat's great joys in retirement was traveling to visit their children and grandchildren in Minnesota and California. He loved to talk about Bismarck sports, his family and New York Yankee baseball during long walks. Dick's health began to fail in 2005 when he often would misjudge a step and fall. In December 2006, he slipped on an icy curb outside of the Kirkwood shopping center and hit his head. The fall sent Dick into a coma for two weeks. Though he recovered, he spent most of the next five years in a nursing home. His last home stay was in 2008. That summer, he was inducted into the North Dakota State Athletic Hall of Fame in Jamestown. His wife Pat and four children, Rich, Liz, Mary and Joe, attended the event. In his last years, Dick would have trouble turning his thoughts into words and would often use sports analogies to make his point. Pat and the children grew used to Dick's new language efforts. In 2010, his oldest daughter, Liz, died unexpectedly at her home in California. Dick expressed his sorrow as "the worst loss of my life." Dick Karlgaard is survived by Pat, of Bismarck, Rich, of Los Altos, Calif.wife Marji, Mary Burnton of Edina, Minn. husband Rick, and Joe of Menlo Park, Calif. wife Jill, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Richard E. Dick Karlgaard

May 20, 1928 - February 7, 2012