Dennis Larkin

Dennis Larkin, 81, Bismarck, N.D., passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

Dennis was born in Providence, R.I., on Oct. 2, 1944, to William and Mildred Larkin. He was the youngest of three boys and took great joy in teasing his older brothers, a habit that continued for his entire life. After high school, he attended Manhattan College in New York City, where he entered what his children liked to call his “hippy phase.” He protested the Vietnam War, he often hitchhiked between New York and Rhode Island, and he and a friend spent months traveling across Europe, including a questionable road trip through the then-Soviet Union. After college, he spent a year at graduate school in Madison, W.I., (of which he remembered very little, possibly due to some “alleged” marijuana use) before joining the Peace Corps.

Dennis eventually returned to Providence where he earned his master’s degree before receiving a job offer from the former State Industrial School in Mandan. Never one to shy away from an adventure, he packed up his car and drove across the country to a state he had never been and knew nothing about. He only planned to stay for a couple of years, but life intervened when he met Lynda Larson one cold New Year’s Eve. Dennis had always had a bit of wanderlust, but in Lynda he found a reason to lay down roots. They married on April 14, 1978, and he stayed in North Dakota for the next 48 years (though he never lost his Rhode Island accent). Dennis and Lynda had four children and enjoyed 35 years together before she passed away in 2013.

Dennis loved spending time with his children and grandchildren and visiting his brother in Rhode Island. He had a talent for cooking spaghetti and meatballs that were so good they were a fixture at every family birthday celebration. He was an active parishioner at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit where he regularly read at mass, challenging the congregation with his Rhode Island accent. He was a member of Serra Club and also volunteered at Annunciation Monastery and with the St. Vincent De Paul Society. He was a counselor for the State of North Dakota for 32 years and worked at Lutheran Social Services for 29 years.

He is survived by his children, Bridget Larkin, Erinn Larkin, Lory (Mike) Hellman, and Scott (Bridget Gallagher) Larkin; his grandchildren, Chandler (Kaitlyn) Rasset, Denzel and Destiny Jorde, and Liam and Allyson Hellman and his brother, Richard Larkin.

Dennis was preceded in death by his wife, Lynda; his parents and his brother, William.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, June 3, at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck, followed by burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery.  To view the livestream, go to https://ecatholic.live/WHxYLvah2zpo1NR1t2UsGL8TUpD1czt2/channels/1/event/1714/public/view?signature=0b6dfcb4000ea195e731859fa80f23a74b72f38fc61fa5fe97065094c4f94732

Visitation will be held from 5–7 PM on Tuesday, June 2, at Bismarck Funeral Home with a Vigil/Rosary service at 7:00 PM at the funeral home.