A Funeral Service was held on Friday July 10, 2020 at the Eastend Rodeo Grounds Arena at 3:00 pm with Father Melchor Samonté officiating; prayer readers Shelley Heck and Ilene Pettyjohn; eulogy read by Miles Heck; memories read by John Ellingson, Paul Ellingson, Shane Cole and Mathew Cole; ushers/guestbook Pat, Jennifer and Colton Armstrong.; videographers Yvonne and Stacey Smith (replay can be found on Facebook). Horseback honor guard Eastend Roping Club and Friends. Honorary Riderless Horse lead by Colin Smith. Binkley’s Funeral Service of Shaunavon (www.Binkleys.com) was in charge of the arrangements. Fredrick Alvin Duke "Fred" of Eastend, Saskatchewan passed away on Thursday July 2, 2020 at the Regina General Hospital. Fred was born July 17, 1943 in Eastend Saskatchewan to Frank and Elvira (Studer) Duke. He is survived by: his loving wife of 50 years Judy (Armstrong), son Wade his wife Dana and their children Amber, Bodie and Clay; daughter Rhonda and her children Makayla and Slade; son Trever and his wife Amanda; daughter Carmen her husband Devin Taylor and their daughters Paisley and Chloe, all of Eastend. His brother Glen Duke of Eastend, sister Lela (Ed Ellingson) of Ponoka Alberta, sister Ilene (Don Pettyjohn) of Medicine Hat Alberta, sister Sharon (Donny Holmberg) of Eastend, along with several brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. He is predeceased by both of his parents, three sisters-in-law, three nieces and one nephew. Fred was raised on the Duke family farm that is located 7 1/2 miles east of Eastend. It was here where he developed his lifelong love for farming, animals and most of all family. When he was five years old he and his older brother Glen pooled their money and bought their first calf together, little did they know that this was just the beginning of what would be a very successful business venture. Also at the age of five Fred joined his first 4-H Beef Club as a clover bud member. He really enjoyed showing cattle, meeting new friends, learning and most of all winning. Fred had a strong willed competitive gene that he passed onto all of his children and grandchildren and he had a large collection of trophies, buckles and ribbons to prove it. Fred started school at Jumbo Butte country school where he took his grade one, and then he went to Brownville country school and was eventually bussed to Eastend School once buses became available in their area. To say that Fred was extremely athletic would be a huge understatement. It didn't matter what he tried, not only did he excel at it but he made it look easy and flawless. Fred was the most determined man that I ever knew; you never dared to tell him that he couldn't do anything. Despite being the smallest guy on the football team he was by far the fastest. He would often joke that he had no choice but to be the fastest because there was no way that he was going to let the famous CFL player Roger Aldag tackle him (and as the story goes, he never did). After finishing high school in 1963 he rode for Arena Pasture during the summer months with his good lifelong friend Garth Bascom and he continued to do so for three consecutive summers. It was also around this time that Fred decided to go with Garth to a few Professional Rodeos. Garth convinced the rookie to enter into the calf roping event and of course he ended up with the Championship Buckle effortlessly. Fred wore this buckle every day, as a matter of fact he is the only person that I know of who has completely worn the face off of a belt buckle, I guess you could say it takes a few years. Fred successfully completed the two year Agriculture course at the University of Saskatoon in 1965. While attending University he met another lifelong friend Victor Hult. Even though Vic and Fred lived miles apart they still managed to spend hours talking on the phone discussing and inventing best farm practices. After graduating from University Fred returned home to take over the Duke family farm with his brother Glen. In 1977 Fred and Glen, along with their wives incorporated under the name Duke's Flying V Bar Ltd, which is still in operation today. The Duke Family farm just celebrated their 110th "Farm-a-versary" this past March, an accomplishment that Fred was most proud of. In 1969 Fred married the love of his life Judy Armstrong. For the first three years of their marriage they lived in a small trailer in Fred's parents’ yard. It was here in this small trailer where their love grew stronger and they welcomed their first child Wade in 1970 and then Rhonda in 1972. Then they moved into Fred's parents’ farm house when Fred's parents decided to retire and moved into Eastend. In 1976 they welcomed their second son Trever and in 1982 their second daughter Carmen. As their family grew Fred and Judy designed and built their dream home where so many cherished memories were made with friends and family. Fred and Judy truly had a special bond; they built countless beautiful things together and conquered all of life's challenges with grace and honor. Fred loved riding, roping and training horses; he made sure that he taught/passed his skills onto all four of his children. Even though each one of us wanted to quit at one time or another he had a special way of gently pushing us to keep trying until it too became an effortless skill for all of us. Fred volunteered countless hours to the Eastend Roping Club, he was always the first in line to organize a rodeo or jackpot, and I think that it was easy for him to do so because no one could ever say no to "Freddy". He worked incredibly hard to provide for his family every single day. He was the "go to guy" that many people went to for advice. He had a way of solving problems like no one else. He was extremely intelligent, be it doing math conversions in his head, preforming an emergency caesarian section on a cow, castrating his granddaughter’s dog or welding a cracked frame on a bale wagon. He never stopped trying to improve his skills or learn new things. He had a no fear kind of approach to life and a "just go and get it done" attitude, a true inspiration to us all. Our wish for you: Dad; may you rest in peace, may you be free of pain, may your reins never break and your steers always run straight. We know that you and our old horse Dynamite are up there smiling down on us. And Dad; we promise to use the skills and life lessons that you have given us and we will pass them onto your grandchildren. We promise to do our best to keep your legacy alive....together we won’t let you down! We Love you Dad!