Jaye Dyer, a geologist from Oklahoma and entrepreneur who started his own Minneapolis-based energy company, was remembered by friends and relatives as a meticulous but genial businessman who also treasured his ownership of the Minnesota Vikings and who gave generously of his wealth to organizations that train and employ disadvantaged people.
Dyer, 82, of Wayzata, died at home Tuesday, surrounded by family members and friends after struggling with health issues for some time, said Dyer's son, Michael.
"He was a golfer right to the end," Michael Dyer said Saturday. "His last round was a week ago Friday at the Wayzata Country Club. He had fun.
"Pop liked people, and he liked to help them. There wasn't a car parker in America who he didn't know. He helped our 20-year fishing guide and his wife in Florida buy a house. He was a good tipper. He was generous. He also was meticulous. He loved to read and he would record the names of the books he read each year and the number of pages."
His reading tastes ran from sports to business to, recently, the life of President Obama.
Dyer, a son of rural Oklahoma, graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1951. He served in the Navy before college.
He entered the oil and gas business and moved to Minnesota to take a job with Ray Plank's oil-exploration company, Apache Corp., in the 1960s.
Dyer started Dyco Petroleum in 1971 and took it public in 1976. It grew big enough to get listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Dyco was acquired by the former Diversified Energy, the parent of Minnegasco, in the 1980s. The company later moved to Arkansas.
Dyer remained in the Twin Cities and was active in business governance, investing, civic life and philanthropy.
He was part of a group of Twin Cities businessmen who owned the Vikings for about a decade until 1998.
He was an amiable man known for mediating board disputes and managing big egos.
"He always was proud of the fact that he was not just a co-owner but that he was the managing partner for a while," Michael Dyer said Saturday. "Dad also was a confidant to lots of people. He helped Jerry Burns become the coach in the late 1980s. And he became a good friend. Jerry just called me to talk about Dad."
Joe Selvaggio, a retired nonprofit executive, serves on the board of the foundation established by Jaye Dyer and his late wife, Betty.
"Jaye was one of the generous business folk," Selvaggio said. "His foundation helps disadvantaged people get the skills they need to get to work and be successful. He always had a smile and light touch. He earned the money. He led the foundation. But he didn't jam his opinions down our throats. He valued our opinion."
In addition to his son, he is survived by daughters Jan Dyer and Karen Howells, a sister, Doris Homer, and four grandchildren.
A memorial service is scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m. at Wayzata Community Church.
Neal St. Anthony • 612-673-7144
