Jean Mason Guy

Jean Guy, 90, of West Fargo, ND, died Friday, July 5, 2013, at Sanford Health in Fargo.

Elizabeth “Jean” Mason was born September 8, 1922, in Fort Yates, North Dakota, daughter of Sidney and Clara (Bond) Mason. Her family farmed on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Not long after Jean’s birth, her family moved to Chaffee, North Dakota and then to Fargo, where she graduated from Fargo High School. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Textiles and Clothing from the North Dakota Agricultural College (N.D.A.C., now North Dakota State University, Fargo), in 1944. She was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority.

Jean married William “Bill” Guy, Jr., January 30, 1943, at First Congregational Church in Fargo.
Following Bill’s tour of duty in the Navy, they farmed for twelve years in Amenia, North Dakota. While raising five children, Jean served as a 4-H Club leader, Sunday school teacher, member of the PTA, Farm Bureau, and Homemakers Club.

In 1960, when her husband became Governor, Jean began twelve years as First Lady of North Dakota. She was one of the most admired and loved of the nation’s First Ladies during those twelve years. Her exceptional memory for names and her wide interests in public policy made her a valuable partner in political campaigns and state government work. She was chair of the first Capitol Grounds Beautification Committee. From its inception in 1968, she served first as chair and then as secretary of the Kennedy Memorial Center Foundation in Bismarck, which oversees the property rented to the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party headquarters.

As the children left the nest and her First Lady duties ended in 1973, Jean and Bill built a home in Casselton, ND. Jean then plunged into public service. For more than 20 years, she served on the board of directors of the Kennedy Memorial Center Foundation in Bismarck and also was secretary for the board of the South East Mental Health District. In 1977, she chaired the National Women’s Committee in the NDSU Economics Family Life Center fund drive.
In 1979, Governor Art Link appointed her to the North Dakota Board of Higher Education, which she chaired in 1985.

Jean and Bill moved back to Bismarck in 1979, where he was employed at Basin Electric Power Cooperative. Jean was named to the board of directors of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation in 1989, during which time the Medora Burning Hills Amphitheatre was expanded and modernized. They moved to Fargo in 1993.

Jean received a number of cherished awards from NDSU, her alma mater: the Honored Alumni Award in 1970; the Alumni Achievement Award in 1979; the Outstanding Home Economics Alumni Centennial Award in 1990; and an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities in 1994. However, as she stated, the most important measurements of her success as a mother are the achievements of her children, and she felt that her family has rewarded her richly.

Jean was an active member of the Presbyterian Women’s Association in the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Casselton, the First Presbyterian Church of Bismarck, and the First Presbyterian Church of Fargo. She was a longtime member of PEO and an active member of the Fargo Fortnightly Study Club.

Jean is survived by her children, William (Marilyn) Guy III, Fargo, ND; James (Jane) Guy, Amenia, ND; Deborah Igoe, Bismarck, ND; Holly (Dale) Mossberg, New London, MN; and Nancy (Greg Stites) Guy, Bismarck, ND; grandchildren, Stephanie (Matt) Gruchalla, Fargo, ND; Mark (Christine) Guy, Eden Prairie, MN; Cari Guy, Kindred, ND; Thomas James Guy, Amenia, ND; Cody Igoe and Caitlin Igoe, Bismarck, ND; Jamie Mossberg, Minneapolis, MN; and great grandchildren, Brooklynn and Makenna Igoe, Bismarck, ND; and Greta Gruchalla, Fargo, ND.

Jean was preceded in death by her husband, William L. Guy, Jr; her brother, Robert Mason, and her parents, Sidney and Clara Mason.

??A private burial has taken place at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, south of Mandan.??

In lieu of flowers, the Guy family encourages the public to send memorials to ND Dollars for Scholars, PO Box 5509, Bismarck, ND 58506-5509, and the Nokomis Day Care Center, 618 23rd St. South, Fargo, ND, 58103 and/or any favorite charity that is making a difference in the lives of our fellow North Dakotans.