The South Dakota Health Care Association’s Century Club, along with KELOLAND Media Group, is pleased to announce D. Boyd Shank as the 2023 South Dakota Centenarian of the Year! Born in November of 1914 on a farm in Jewell County, Kansas, Boyd is 108 years old, and is the current oldest member of the Century ClubSM!
For 7 years, Boyd attended a one-room schoolhouse. Easily bored, his parents and the school decided he should skip the third grade. Due to having a November birthday and starting first grade at 4 years of age, he graduated from Superior (Nebraska) High School at age 16.
At age 17, he went to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy. Boyd spent six years gaining his Doctorate from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. On December 20, 1941, Boyd graduated in the morning, married Clarice Elizabeth Manwiller in the afternoon, and moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas to start his first job in the evening.
The newly married couple would stay in Fayetteville until fall 1946. During that time, he served as an assistant professor and worked as both a cotton and corn breeder. Although he’d never seen a cotton plant prior to his arrival, he was an “expert” the next day. During the WWII period, Boyd’s work with long-staple cotton was considered vital to the war effort.
The Shanks moved to Brookings, SD, in 1946 where Boyd began a 35-year career with South Dakota State College (later University) as a researcher and teacher. He developed several lines of corn hybrids and retired as a professor emeritus in 1980.
Boyd and Clarice’s family includes two sons, four grandsons, five great grandsons and one great granddaughter.
Although now 108, Boyd continues to live alone in his condo in Brookings with some help from aides. He still rides his stationary bike for some exercise although not as often nor as long as previously.
Asked about his longevity, Boyd points to a “tee-totaler” lifestyle, a dietician for a wife and some really good genes. His paternal grandfather lived to age 91 and his own father lived to 87. Diet, some exercise and lots of naps keep him going today.
The Century Club was created by the South Dakota Health Care Association to recognize South Dakotans age 100 or older, both for their longevity and their contributions to our state. Over 1,300 South Dakotans have been inducted into the Century Club since its founding in 1997. The Century Club is, as its name states, a club. Therefore, there may be older people in the state that have not yet been inducted by a family member or loved one into the Century Club.
The Century Club is open to any resident of South Dakota upon the celebration of his or her 100th birthday. There are no dues and each inductee receives a specially designed certificate and membership card. Once a year, the current oldest living Century Club Member is recognized as the “Centenarian of the Year.” Submit names for the Century Club by visiting www.sdhca.org and downloading a Century Club application or call LuAnn Severson, Century Club Coordinator, at 1-800-952-3052.
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