Duane Robert Smith

Duane Robert Smith, son of Merlin and Vera (Patefield) Smith, was born on July 4, 1945, in Laurel, Nebraska. He was one of eight children. On May 31, 1956, he was baptized in his home in Wakefield, Nebraska by a Presbyterian minister. He was confirmed on June 21, 1986 at Zion Lutheran Church in Denison, Iowa where he remained a lifelong member.

In Duane’s younger years, he lived on a farm in Laurel, Nebraska with his parents and siblings until 1955 when the family moved to Wakefield and Stanton, Nebraska. In December of 1958, the family moved to Audubon, Iowa. In 1970, Duane and his brother James moved to Denison, Iowa, where they were with WESCO. They shared an apartment and worked at Dubuque Packing Company until it closed in 1992, then he worked part time for Millard Refrigeration. In 1982, his parents retired and moved to Denison, where they bought a home and lived with Duane and James until their deaths, Merlin in 1993 and Vera in 2009.

Duane retired in 2007 and would spend his afternoons at HyVee drinking coffee. He was a faithful member of his church. He loved to go camping, spending time at the cabin in Lake View, fishing in the summer and bowling in the winter with the WESCO bowling league.

In January 2025, Duane moved to Denison Care Center where he passed away on Saturday, November 8, 2025, attaining the age of eighty years, four months and 4 days. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers, Roger Smith, and Eugene and his wife Linda Smith, nephew, Nicholas Smith, grandniece, Elizabeth Hansen, brother-in-law, Gary Hocamp, sister-in-law, Zelda Smith, grandparents and aunts and uncles.

He is survived by his siblings, Judith and her husband Leon Thompson of Audubon, Iowa; Marilyn Hocamp of Exira, Iowa; Larry Smith of Carroll, Iowa; James Smith of Denison, Iowa; Ronald and his wife Debra Smith of Denison, Iowa; nieces and nephews, other family members, and friends.