He is survived by his wife Patricia Vaillancourt Marshall; sister Susan Kokos of Haiku, HI, brother Brian Gilbert of Santa Cruz, CA and brother Doug Burke of Pelham, NY; sons Scott Monosoff of Fremont, CA and Lance Monosoff of Carmel, CA; daughters Dana Monosoff Dworin of Millvalley, CA and Tia Monosoff Lenberg of San Ramon, CA, Elisa Marshall May of Atlanta, GA, and Tracie Marshall Brown of Maynard, MA; step-son Quin Vaillancourt of Marblehead, MA and step-daughter Michelle Vaillancourt of Ipswich, MA and families; grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
Duane graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at CalTech, followed by a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. His post graduate work was at MIT.
He began his career at Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto, then moved east where he worked on designing open-heart surgery monitoring systems, airborne instruments for H bomb measurement and simulators during the cold war, and a consultant providing electronics for controlling lathes used to make contact lenses. In 1974, he joined Megapulse in Bedford, MA and designed solid state megawatt LORAN transmitters, used to replace all vacuum tube transmitters, eliminating the need to staff the LORAN stations 24/7. In the early 1990s, Duane was promoted to Director of Research & Development at Megapulse, where he continued his work with LORAN transmitters worldwide including India, China, Japan, Korea, and Netherlands.
Duane combined his engineering skills with his sense of adventure searching for the Loch Ness Monster with the Academy of Applied Science between 1975 and 2007. During this time, he provided designs, helped manage the assembly and field operation of sonar triggered underwater photo studies of Loch Ness in Scotland. He made many trips to the Loch Ness through the years and some of his happiest days were spent chasing “Nessie” in the cold waters, his sonar cameras scanning for signs of animal life.
Duane possessed a passion for sailing the ocean. Pat & Duane lived aboard their Saga 43 sailboat, No Se’, for four years, traveling between the New England coast, and the Bahamas. Duane participated in six Bermuda races, three of which he captained his boat. He was Commodore and a lifetime member of the Blue Water Sailing Club, Commodore of the Seven Seas Cruising Association, and member of the Corinthian Yacht Club. He and his family spent many beautiful summers cruising the Maine Coast, Canadian Provinces, and the waters of Cape Cod.
Duane was also an avid biker. He was a member of the Cyclopaths, who traveled the scenic Northshore of Massachusetts on weekends, and participated in the Pan Mass Challenge for many years, raising money for the Jimmy Fund.
A memorial service will be held January 18th at Old North Church, 35 Washington Street, Marblehead, MA, 01945, (781) 631-1244 at 11am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Duane's name to the Pan Mass Challenge at pmc.org or to the Kidney Transplant Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH Transplant Center, 55 Fruit Street, Room White 517, Boston, MA 02114).
Duane's sense of humor, strength, and endurance to enjoy life through every challenge, overcoming barriers that faced him, was extraordinary. He inspired us all to live life to the fullest; not to waste a day. Duane didn’t believe in sacrifice, he instead encouraged everyone to live life to their absolute greatest potential. We carry his inspiration in our hearts.
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