Owyn Jay Fuglie, 66, died Tuesday, January 12 at his home in Williston.

“Jay” to his friends and “Jaybird” to his family was born in Hettinger, ND, Dec. 27, 1954, the third of seven children of Dr. O.J. and Phyllis (Boehmer) Fuglie.
He graduated from Hettinger High School and Dickinson State College in Dickinson, ND.

After a brief teaching career in Carrington, ND, he entered the insurance industry and had a long, successful career as a Farmers Union Insurance agent in Williston.

He was married to Rosalie Sonsalla in 1986. They had no children and later divorced.

Jay was an avid, low-handicap golfer, and scored a hole-in-one at the Carrington Country Club in 1985. Health issues forced his retirement from the game a few years ago. He grew up hunting and fishing, skills he learned from his dad, and spent much time afield with his brothers and brothers-in-law throughout his life.

He was a regular winter visitor to Hawaii, and knew the very best hotels, restaurants, watering holes and beaches. His last wish was to have his ashes scattered on Hawaii beaches, and he left a trust account with funds for his entire family to take him there to fulfill that wish, which will likely happen later this year.

He is survived by his siblings and their spouses, including Jim Fuglie and Lillian Crook, Laurelle and Lyle Hilden, and Jill and John Power, all of Bismarck; Blair and Phyllis Fuglie, Ephrata, WA; Sue and Mike Konstant, Spearfish, SD; and Blake and Robin Fuglie, Sioux Falls, SD. He has joined his parents and his niece McKenna Fuglie in heaven.

Jay was about as good-hearted a man as the city of Williston has ever known. His brothers and sisters and their spouses and children, his Farmers Union family, and his friends, business associates and fellow Elks members in his adopted hometown, will miss him.