Donald Duane Duncan Iowa City, Iowa Obituary

Donald Duane Duncan

Donald Duane Duncan, 88, a resident of Iowa City since 1968, passed away on November 15, 2020 at Mercy Hospital, Iowa City, after a brief illness. A Family Memorial Service with Military Honors will be held at 1 PM, Friday, at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City. Visitation for friends will be from noon to 1 PM. Father Joseph Sia officiating. Inurnment will be at Memory Gardens Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Mercy Hospital Foundation. The service will be video recorded and placed on the funeral home website. Online condolences may be sent to the family @www.lensingfuneral.com. For the safety of family and friends, the wearing of masks and social distancing will be required. Thank you Don was born on October 8, 1932 in Columbus Junction, Iowa, the son of Gerald and Mary (Daniel) Duncan. A 1950 graduate of Washington High School, Don enlisted in the US Air Force in March 1952 at the age of 19. After basic and advanced training at Lowery and Travis Air Force Bases, he shipped off to Daegu, South Korea in August 1953 to serve his country as an aircraft armorer with the 430th Fighter-Bomber Squadron. Don returned to the USA in September 1954 and was assigned to the 366th Supply Squadron at England Air Force Base in Louisiana. He was honorably discharged in 1956 and was accepted as a student at the University of Iowa, where he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Economics. He met his future wife, Gayle (nee Graettinger) at Iowa City’s Veterans Administration Hospital, where she served as a registered nurse. They married on August 24, 1959. As good Catholics should, Don and Gayle produced several offspring – four kids in four calendar years – from 1960 to 1964. After brief stays in homes in Indianola and Urbandale, Iowa, Don and Gayle moved in 1968 with their family to Iowa City, Iowa, the home of the Iowa Hawkeyes! GO HAWKS! Don served as President of First Federal Savings & Loan for 22 years, retiring in 1990. He is survived by Gayle and the aforementioned children: Teresa “Terri” (Scott) Washburn and their son, Kyle, of The Colony, Texas; Jerome “Jerry” and Christine (Butcher) Duncan and their children, Andrew, Allison and Natalie of West Bend, Wisconsin; Paul and Carrie (Bette) Duncan and their two daughters, Camille and Isabelle of Athens, Georgia; Jean (Craig) Dallege, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and their sons, Nick and his fiancé, Maleigha Flint. and Jason “Jake.” Don is also survived by two sisters, Shirley (Tom) Mills, of Keota, Iowa and Mary Kay Smith, of Springfield, Missouri, and countless other nieces, nephews and in-laws. During the last two decades in the month of July, Don and Gayle enjoyed raucous family reunions as their kids descended upon them in Iowa City with their burgeoning band of grandchildren. For those five days every July, it was beer, board games and camaraderie – and so much fun! They absolutely loved watching this generation of kids grow up to be the persons they are now, and they will miss their Grampa Don dearly, as will his four loving children, his loving wife Gayle and the thousands of other people whose lives he touched. “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14
October 8, 1932 - November 15, 202010/08/193211/15/2020
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Obituary

Donald Duane Duncan, 88, a resident of Iowa City since 1968, passed away on November 15, 2020 at Mercy Hospital, Iowa City, after a brief illness. A Family Memorial Service with Military Honors will be held at 1 PM, Friday, at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City. Visitation for friends will be from noon to 1 PM. Father Joseph Sia officiating. Inurnment will be at Memory Gardens Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Mercy Hospital Foundation. The service will be video recorded and placed on the funeral home website. Online condolences may be sent to the family @www.lensingfuneral.com. For the safety of family and friends, the wearing of masks and social distancing will be required. Thank you Don was born on October 8, 1932 in Columbus Junction, Iowa, the son of Gerald and Mary (Daniel) Duncan. A 1950 graduate of Washington High School, Don enlisted in the US Air Force in March 1952 at the age of 19. After basic and advanced training at Lowery and Travis Air Force Bases, he shipped off to Daegu, South Korea in August 1953 to serve his country as an aircraft armorer with the 430th Fighter-Bomber Squadron. Don returned to the USA in September 1954 and was assigned to the 366th Supply Squadron at England Air Force Base in Louisiana. He was honorably discharged in 1956 and was accepted as a student at the University of Iowa, where he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Economics. He met his future wife, Gayle (nee Graettinger) at Iowa City’s Veterans Administration Hospital, where she served as a registered nurse. They married on August 24, 1959. As good Catholics should, Don and Gayle produced several offspring – four kids in four calendar years – from 1960 to 1964. After brief stays in homes in Indianola and Urbandale, Iowa, Don and Gayle moved in 1968 with their family to Iowa City, Iowa, the home of the Iowa Hawkeyes! GO HAWKS! Don served as President of First Federal Savings & Loan for 22 years, retiring in 1990. He is survived by Gayle and the aforementioned children: Teresa “Terri” (Scott) Washburn and their son, Kyle, of The Colony, Texas; Jerome “Jerry” and Christine (Butcher) Duncan and their children, Andrew, Allison and Natalie of West Bend, Wisconsin; Paul and Carrie (Bette) Duncan and their two daughters, Camille and Isabelle of Athens, Georgia; Jean (Craig) Dallege, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and their sons, Nick and his fiancé, Maleigha Flint. and Jason “Jake.” Don is also survived by two sisters, Shirley (Tom) Mills, of Keota, Iowa and Mary Kay Smith, of Springfield, Missouri, and countless other nieces, nephews and in-laws. During the last two decades in the month of July, Don and Gayle enjoyed raucous family reunions as their kids descended upon them in Iowa City with their burgeoning band of grandchildren. For those five days every July, it was beer, board games and camaraderie – and so much fun! They absolutely loved watching this generation of kids grow up to be the persons they are now, and they will miss their Grampa Don dearly, as will his four loving children, his loving wife Gayle and the thousands of other people whose lives he touched. “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14

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Events

Nov
20
Visitation
Friday, November 20 2020
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Lensing-Iowa City
605 Kirkwood Ave.
Iowa City, IA 52240
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Nov
20
Service
Friday, November 20 2020
01:00 PM
Lensing-Iowa City
605 Kirkwood Ave.
Iowa City, IA 52240
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The service will be video recorded and placed on the funeral home website. Online condolences may be sent to the family @www.lensingfuneral.com. For the safety of family and friends, the wearing of masks and social distancing will be required. Thank you
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Final Resting Place
Memory Gardens Cemetery
2600 Muscatine Avenue
Iowa City, IA 52240
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