Boyd Shank | |
![]() Shank at the age of 108 on July 13, 2023. | |
Birth: | 5 November 1914 Jewell County, Kansas, USA |
Death: | 5 March 2024 Brookings, South Dakota, USA |
Age: | 109 years, 121 Days |
Country: | ![]() |
Centenarian |
Daniel Boyd Shank more regularly known as Boyd Shank (born 5 November 1914 – 5 March 2024) was an American centenarian who was the third-oldest known living man in the United States at the time of his death, behind Morrie Markoff and Vincent Dransfield. He was also the oldest known living man in South Dakota since 2019, the oldest known man to ever reside in the state, and the only one to reach the age of 109.
Biography[]
Boyd Shank was born on 5 November 1914 on a farm in Jewell County, Kansas. His paternal grandfather lived to be 91 and his father lived to be 87.
For 7 years he attended a one room school house easily bored he skipped the 3rd grade remarking "I was a antsy little kid and they couldn't keep me busy" he came to have some regrets on this decision as it meant he was now in a grade where all the other students were atleast a year older then him meaning he also wasn't able to participate in most of the grades athletics as he was usually shorter then everyone else his family later moved to Nebraska where he went to high school in Superior due to the age gap because of this and him having a November birthday he graduated school at the age of 16 he then went to school at the university of Nebraska where he graduated in 1935 with a bachelor degree in agronomy he then spent 6 years of graduate work at Iowa State where he graduated with a doctorate in genetics. On October 16, 1940, Boyd drafted for World War 2, draft card here. On December 20, 1941, shortly after he graduated he married Clarice Manwiller and moved to Fayetteville Arkansas, marriage record here. They were married at the Bethesda Lutheran Church in Ames, Iowa. Fayetteville is where they stayed until 1946 during that time he served as a assistant professor and worked as both a cotton and corn breeder due to this work he was exempt from service in WW2 they moved to Brookings South Dakota in 1946 where he began a 35 year career with South Dakota State College (Later university) as a researcher and teacher he developed several lines of corn hybrids he retired in 1980 as of 2023 he had 2 sons 4 grandsons 5 great grandsons and one great great granddaughter on 28 October 2019 at the age of almost 105 he became the oldest living man in South Dakota when John Zilverberg died.in July 2023 he was recognized by the South Dakota Century club as the oldest living person in South Dakota becoming the first man in the 11 years of the award to achieve this in the article about it he was still living alone in his condo in Brookins at the age of 108 with only somce help from aides he still rides his stationary bike for exercise although not as long as he used too
Boyd Shank died in Brookings, South Dakota on 5 March 2024, at the age of 109 years, 121 days. He is the oldest man ever to die in South Dakota