Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 271020
Title: Kim "Byrd" R. Sparrow
Date: 4/23/1956-6/27/2023
Inscription/Marks: 4/23/1956
Summary: Kim Robert Sparrow, also known as “Byrd,” 67, of Bismarck, ND, passed away suddenly June 27, 2023, after a shockingly short battle with cancer. A funeral service was held July 6, 2023, at Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck. Interment was at Fairview Cemetery in Bismarck. Kim was born April 23, 1956, in Minot, ND, and grew up on his parents’ farm northwest of McClusky, ND. He graduated from McClusky High School in 1974 and later Hansen Mechanical School in Fargo. He then went to work at Liebelt Chevrolet in Beulah and Hazen Motors in Hazen as a mechanic for 12 years. On June 6, 1980, he married Judy Yeager in Beulah and they lived in Beulah until 1991 when they moved back to McClusky and took over his parents’ farm after their deaths. Besides farming, Kim also worked as a commercial truck driver and spent several years working as an oil tank driver in the Bakken oil field and also as a lube tech at Cedric Theel in Bismarck until he retired several years ago. He was a major contributor to Judy's embroidery and quilting business by keeping her many machines running, packing and toting her goods to craft shows, and being her “out front” salesman during the shows. Kim loved doing so many things. His Harley Davidson softtail was his pride and joy, and he and Judy went to 23 Sturgis Motorcycle Rallies together. Cruise night in downtown Bismarck was also a popular thing for them to enjoy, usually driving their black metallic Polaris Slingshot or their shiny orange 2008 Dodge Challenger. He loved to “visit” with his many friends, family, neighbors or anyone he happened to meet that seemed to beinteresting. Many hours were spent gabbing about nothing in particular or anything and everything under the sun. He was a great story and joke teller which were made even better by his presentations which were often quite entertaining. Many people will miss his long, two-hour phone conversations, especially his sister! He was an imposing figure of a man--broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip--who could appear gruff on the outside, but anyone who knew him knew he was soft-hearted to the core. He loved helping his neighbors with various things and kept many driveways free of snow. He helped many cars, trucks, and school buses that had gotten stuck in the snow. He was a top-notch mechanic and had the reputation that “Sparrow” could fix anything. He handmade many of the items in his yard, including a bench made from his dad’s old blue Chevrolet pickup tailgate. Kim is survived by his wife, Judy; sons, Sheridan (Kimberly) Sparrow, of Merrifield, MN, and Kyle Sparrow (friend Carlee Bartholomay), of Bismarck; granddaughters, Elissabeth, Kassidy and Corissa Sparrow, of Merrifield, MN; sister, Rosanna (James) Clouse, of Gold Canyon, AZ; brothers-in-law, Lyle (Vicky) Yeager, Keith (Lori) Yeager, Larry Yeager, Kenny Yeager, and Kevin (friend Robin) Yeager, all of Beulah; and his special animal friends, cats, Socks and Keetz, and dogs, Daisy and Willow. Kim was predeceased by his parents Kenneth and Dorothy Sparrow; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Norman and Elaine Yeager and many aunts and uncles.
Red ID: FND_I_78511 Image ID: 596209 Image Notes: FND001 271020

Collection: FND001 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Date: -

Summary: The North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program is sponsored by the North Dakota Funeral Directors Association. The life stories of deceased North Dakotans are featured in an archvied collection. Current partners in the project are Eastgate Funeral & Cremation Services, Bismarck Evans Funeral Homes, Carrington and New Rockford Everson-Coughlin Funeral Home, Williston Fulkerson Funeral Home, Tioga Fulkerson Funeral Home, Watford City Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home, Williston Nero Funeral Home, Bottineau Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck Springan Stevenson Funeral Home, Stanley Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson These funeral homes provide recent obituaries to the Foundation, where staff and volunteers format, edit and archive each memorial. The memorials are posted, and copies are sent to the family for their input and approval. The listing currently features more than 13,000 memorials, and is constantly updated as new memorials and histories are received.

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