Obituary of Richard Neil Youngblood

Youngblood, Richard Neil (Dick) of St. Paul on Oct. 23. Age 85. Loving father of Kent (Maggie McQuestion), Ruth (Ron) Mandsager and Beth (Jeff) Kolanski, stepson Sean Dinneen and step daughters Shari (Dave) Fink and Molly Dinneen. Preceded in death by his beloved wife Mary Dinneen and stepson Kevin Dinneen. Devoted grandfather of Paige and Zachary Kolanski, Kaitlin Fink (Alan Vandagriff), Kevin (Abby) Fink, Megan (Jack) Nash and great grandfather to Lucy and Dominic Fink. Dick was preceded in death by brother Robert Youngblood and survived by sister Carol (Charles) Sanders of Elko NV.  A lifelong newspaperman, there might be nobody who loved their job more. He wrestled with both the issues and a Bengal tiger, in 1970, while covering the Minnesota State Fair. As a newswriting instructor at St. Thomas he influenced a generation of communicators while being both exacting and encouraging; for some, he may be the most demanding teacher they ever loved. Dick could be both irascible and endearing. He owned a quick wit, a collegial spirit and a determination to introduce nearly everyone he met to the delights of a Jucy Lucy at Matt’s Tavern. Dick was born on May 9, 1936 in Minot, N.D. He grew up in small-town North Dakota, first in Harvey, later in Bowbells. A graduate of the University of North Dakota, Dick worked for the Grand Forks Herald from 1955-63 before becoming a North Dakota correspondent for the Minneapolis Tribune in 1963. A year later he came to Minneapolis to cover agribusiness for the Tribune. By 1968 he was an assistant city editor. In 1969 he became the Tribune’s business editor, a job he held for 14 years. In 1983 he began writing a full-time business column for the Star Tribune. He retired twice. First in 1998, after which he was convinced to write one column a week, which he did until 2010. He called everybody “teammate.’’ There was nothing Dick liked better than the noise, pace and people found in a newsroom. He wrote in a conversational style that belied the work and precision he put into every column. He would agonize trying to find the best transition, the perfect word. That encroaching memory loss issues made finding the right words more difficult in his final years was particularly cruel. Dick loved crime novels and doing crosswords. After retirement he loved having coffee with former co-workers, seeing his grandkids and taking kids from his St. Paul neighborhood for ice cream. There will be a memorial service held at the Cremation Society of Minnesota’s St. Paul facility, 1979 Old Hudson Road, St. Paul, 55119 from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 19.