Duncan Perry

Duncan Richard Perry, D.D.S., 82, Bismarck, died June 19, 2010, at St Alexius Medical Center, Bismarck. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 22, First Presbyterian Church, Bismarck, with the Rev. Jake Kincaid officiating. Burial will be at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery.

There will be no visitation.

Dr. Perry has been an active and generous member of this community for his entire life. He was born to Isabel and Harold T. Perry, in Bismarck, on July 27, 1927. Duncan graduated from Bismarck High School in 1946. He became an Eagle Scout and excelled in athletics, including football and track and field. For three summers in the 1940s he served in the U.S. Forestry Service, in Montana and Idaho, fighting fires.

After high school, he joined the U.S. Navy. After the Navy, he attended Bismarck Junior College and the University of North Dakota prior to entering dental school at Northwestern University in Chicago. He married Donna Henry of Westhope, in 1951. After graduating from dental school, in 1953, he returned to Bismarck where he joined in his father's dental practice. He was a well-respected dentist for almost 50 years. During these years he was notable for his willingness to support and encourage his colleagues and provide care for those with few resources. Dr. Perry served as the President of the North Dakota Dental Association and was inducted into the International College of Dentistry, a rare honor.

Dr. Perry was a member of many organizations, playing leadership roles in the Boy Scouts, United Way, Elks and Exchange Club, among many others. He was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church. In the last years of his life he helped found The Perry Karlgaard Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support student athletes in the cross country and track and field programs at Bismarck High School. He was a curious, bright and creative man with many skills including painting, sculpting and woodcarving. All who met him were cheered by his humor and moved by his generous spirit.

He is survived by his brother, Harold Perry, Florence, Ore.; his children, Barbara Perry,  Douglas, Ga., Bruce and Barbara Perry, Houston, John Perry, Rock Creek, Mont., and Burt Moffatt, Fargo; his grandchildren, Ansley Magit, San Francisco, Kate Cichy, Sioux Falls, S.D., Rebecca Geiger,  Mandan, Jay Perry, Chattanooga, Tenn., Elizabeth Perry, Silverthorne, Colo., Katharine Perry, Martha Perry, and Robert Perry, all of Houston, Rivers Perry, Rock Creek, Mont., and Alisha Moffatt, Fargo; and his great-grandchildren, Madeline Perry, Chattanooga, Tenn., and Alexander Moffatt, Fargo.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to The Perry Karlgaard Foundation at 734 Aspen Place, Bismarck, N.D. 58503.

Go to http://www.eastgatefuneral.com/">www.eastgatefuneral.com to share memories of Dr. Perry and to sign the online guest book. (Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck)