Duane Silva Kugelman

Duane Kugelman passed away unexpectedly at his beloved home in Austin, Texas of natural causes on October 3, 2025.

Duane was born in Marysville, California on October 31, 1956. He was the fourth of five children to Duane Kugelman Sr. and Florence Kugelman. He grew up in Marysville on his family's ranch, next to his maternal grandparents' dairy farm. He attended Notre Dame Catholic School and Marysville High School. Duane went on to graduate from San Jose State University with a degree in business. He began working at IBM in 1979 where he spent his career in application development and programming until retiring in 2016.

Duane met the love of his life Cris Alsberge in 1978. They instantly bonded over a deep love of rock and roll. As a show of affection, Duane would gift Cris with record albums on their early dates. They married in his parent's garden in 1982, sharing 43 years of marriage.

In 1990, Duane and Cris welcomed their first daughter, Alexandra Kugelman, in San Jose, California. Shortly after, IBM transferred Duane to Austin, TX. Duane and Cris were familiar with Austin's culture and music scene through Austin City Limits on PBS, and they were enthusiastic to build their life in the new destination. In 1992 they welcomed their second daughter, Tara Kugelman, in Austin. Duane treasured his role as a family man, providing love, stability and care to his wife and daughters.

Music and playing records was a constant source of joy throughout Duane’s life. Dinner was usually followed by a dance party, and music was commonly used to wake up Alexandra and Tara for school or Saturday swim meets. Duane never stopped adding to his vinyl collection and enjoyed spinning a record or two most days.

Duane was an exceptional cook, and particularly enjoyed cooking Portuguese, Mexican and Indian cuisines. After arriving in Central Texas, Duane was inspired to learn the art of barbecuing, a skill he refined and mastered over the course of his 34 years in Austin.

Duane loved to travel. He and Cris traveled extensively throughout Mexico in their first decade together. As a family of four, they took regular family vacations frequenting California, New Mexico and the Gulf Coast. A notable family vacation included taking their daughters on a heritage trip to the Azores, where Duane’s maternal grandfather, Manuel Silva, was from. After retirement, they took memorable trips to mainland Portugal, Spain, Peru, Tofino and numerous visits throughout the U.S. and Mexico, with a deep affection for Oaxaca, Merida and Mexico City.

Duane loved sports, and was a lifelong baseball fan of the San Francisco Giants (National) and the Oakland A's (American), as well as every iteration of the Raiders football team. Duane was on a quest to visit as many major league baseball parks as possible, and Cris was an enthusiastic partner. He also loved soccer, keeping up with European, South American, and Mexican leagues, and ultimately becoming a huge Austin FC fan.

Duane was exceptionally friendly, with a natural ability to establish commonality and conversation with anyone. He will be inexpressibly missed by his family and all who knew him.

He is preceded in death by his parents Duane Sr. and Florence Kugelman and his brothers in law Henry Garcia, Scott Porter and Rick Gould. He is survived by his wife Cris Alsberge-Kugelman, and his daughters Alexanda Kugelman (Justin Smith), and Tara Kugelman. He is also survived by his siblings Julie Porter, Janice Roper (Steve), Doreen Gould, David Kugelman (Robin), and fifteen nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) at <https://web.charityengine.net/HAAMdonation2024>.