April 26, 2013

Since the late 1980's Duane had become part of my life as his daughter Theresa and I began dating. He had always been a demanding yet good natured man, always ready to help and joke as needed. We spent several years helping at the house on McKay Creek, whether it was changing water or help in the haying process. As always wood cutting seem to be a "Winter" event, it was much too easy to accomplish during the spring and summer!

Duane enjoyed his profession he chose and spoke of it often.  Story after story of the places he had been and things he had seen.  They were good stories and repeated often.  He spoke of places he still had to go and activities he had yet to experience.

He cared for his family the best he could and would give his last dollar if someone was in need.  

He enjoyed visiting with his siblings and I think wanted to spend more time with them over the years. In conversation they were always mentioned and he was proud of all of them.  Almost on cue he would start speaking of one sibling and complete the entire list of their children and grandchildren.  He thought of them and their families although he didn't always show it.

This will be a tough day for the Morgan family, the first sibling to pass.  It brings to light our own mortality and how short our time is here.  He will join his parents and will rejoice the reunion.

Brad

Some memories I, Gloria had of my brother Duane.
 
Duane is about three and a half years younger than me, as he got older we were good buddies.
 
We were living in the orchard in a partial tent as there were wood walls half way up the side , this was a thing we lived in
while Dad was building the house. Anyway Duane was laying in his crib in the sunshine and Mom was taking his
picture when the radio announcer said Pearl Harbor had been bombed. The next thing I remember was Duane poking
at a rattlesnake   He was about two years old then. Dad was chopping wood so he had the axe in hand when saw what
Duane was doing, so Dad killed the snake naturally.
 
Duane was Grandpa Elliott's boy that he never had so he spoilt him rotten. After the 2nd world war and we could buy
Farm equipment again, Grandpa bought him a small John Deere tractor. The tractor wasn't big enough to do much
With but ride on it. Grandpa also bought Duane a horse of his own. It was a Indian pony called Strawberry. All of the
Grandkids got to ride him so I guess the horse was everyone's but basically he was Duane's. When Duane was little
Grandpa had to be the first to buy him a pair of jeans and cowboy boots.
 
About the time I started school, our folks moved down the creek to where Mom and Dad lived until they passed away.
Every Friday evening Grandpa wood come and get us and we would spend the week-ends at the ranch and then on
Sunday afternoon Mom & Dad would come and get us. Duane and I spent a lot of time at the ranch growing up.
We would hike all over the place. One time we were hiking up behind the cow lot and the back wheat field just to see
what was up there beside juniper trees and rocks. We were quite a bit up the hill and threw a couple of fences when
we heard a mountain lion scream boy did we clear the fences and ran as fast as we could go over the field and cow lot
to the back door and were we ever out of breath that we could hardly talk to tell Grandma what happened. She just laughted
at us. We were some where around 8-11 years old.
 
We liked to play in the barns. There was a large beam in the big barn we climb on and jump down into the hay.
There was a hay trough made out of a very large log anyway Duane decided he was going to jump from the window
In the barn down to the trough, which was at least 15 feet or more high and out from the barn about 10 feet, anyway he jumped
and landed in the trough but the second time he missed the trough and landed on the ground and knocked the air out of him
and I thought he was dead and I ran to the house to get Grandma and by the time we got there he was coming around.
He never tried that again. If Grandpa only knew the things we done he would have had a hissy-fit.
 
Another adventure of ours was on the south side of the big field and house, that time we were a little older and had climbed to
the top of the hill, you could see all around the country from there, anyway coming down the hill fast and not paying much attention
to where we were going Duane fell over a small cliff into the shale rock below, never got hurt that time either. It's a wonder he didn't 
break something.
 
On the knoll by the house we played a lot on it. We played with the little toy cars. One time we tried to catch a baby Magpie
Because someone had told us we could make it talk if we did something to it's tongue. The momma bird didn't like us around
her nest as she would dive bomb us, needless to say that wasn't one of our brightest adventures. On this same hill was a
play house that Mom and her sisters made out of rail fencing. When we discovered the house it was falling down xo we got the
brilliant idea to rebuild it back to the way it used to be. We had fun doing that and we spent a lot of time playing there.
 
One time we rode Strawberry bare back and loped him through the field, we got laughing so hard we fell off, it's wonder we 
didn't get kicked in the head. If Grandpa knew we had done that we would have been in deep dodo.
 
These are a few things I remember about spending time on the ranch.
 
 
Duane had a Pontiac car when he was in high school of course he had it all soup up so naturally the city police would try to 
catch him but he would out run them out of city limits. Never did get a ticket that I know of. He would run it at some kind of races
and coming home one time the motor blew up so that ended his racing career. 
 
He had a Indian motorcycle that he would ride around. Jerry Long had a cycle and the 3 of us would ride around the country,
what fun that was. It caught fire and Duane had call Dad to come and get him and the bike. So much for riding bikes after that.
 
One time Duane made me mad and I chased him and he ran through the creek to get away from me. 
Guess he didn't think I would follow him but I did but by the time we ran through the creek and was soaking wet I forgot why I 
was mad at him.
 
After Grandpa died Duane helped Grandma run the ranch and he grew up fast after that with a lot responsibilities he had.
 
I'm sure there is a lot more but right now I can't think of them.
 
Love you all,
 
Gloria


Memories of my brother, by middle sister Marion (Mary) Morgan Berg

Duane was just two and one-half years older than me.
I remember from an early age, that our grandfather, Fred, would pick him up on Fridays so he could spend the weekend on the ranch. Duane was the oldest of the grandsons. Since grandpa did not have a son, he filled that void with his first grandson. My brother would also spent the entire summer with my grandparents.

Grandpa Fred taught him everything about running a ranch. Duane learned how to rope and ride horses, round up cattle and how to brand them. He helped build corrals. Summers were spent cutting crops, bailing and hauling hay.
When Grandpa Fred died, Duane was only 15, but he took on the responsibility to run the ranch with Grandma Ruth. It was a responsibility that few fifteen year old teens could accomplish.

The summer that I was 14, I worked at the ranch to help cook and clean. That summer, my cousins, as I best can remember, Gerald and Greg Relling, also worked on the ranch. Just after sunrise, gramma would start calling for Duane and the rest of us to get up.. We were typical teens who liked to stay up late. One of those mornings I found a dead rattlesnake hanging on the clothesline.

Speaking again of rattlesnakes, I remember Duane telling how he climbed a tree after seeing a rattlesnake coming towards him. Apparently, he had climbed off the tractor just a little too near the snake. The tree was refuge.
For the past 18 years or so, I would spend a weekend every summer visiting him. He, Yvonne and I would hit the garage sales. He was an avid garage sale junkie. He was also looking for a treasure to two…..Then he liked giving his treasures away. I have a couple of cat cookie jars and a few Oregon Duck memorabilia that he bought for me.
Although he didn't play sports, he liked to watch them. He attended NFL and pro baseball games. He and Yvonne met me in Eugene for a Duck game. He took Paul Thalhofer to the 1995 Rose Bowl to see the Ducks play. He was always ready and willing to travel. Even this last summer/fall, he took Paul around the Ochoco's and High Desert areas to show him places Paul had never seen.

Most of all, I will remember him as a guy who loved to be on the road in his truck. He drove his truck to every state but Hawaii and Alaska. And, he had collections to prove it. He knew a lot about trucks and his trade. He loved his kids and his dogs....Buggs, perhaps is one of the most memorable of his pups.
He left an impression on those who knew him. He was, indeed, an accomplished man.

As a child I had the opportunity to spend a few summers staying with my Grandparents in Prineville.  During those summers I would spend time with Uncle Duane.  It didn't take long to realize Uncle Duane was the consummate prankster.  The pranks were always funny with no malicious intent even when I was the butt of the joke. I learned to keep my head on a swivel when Uncle Duane was around wondering what prank was coming next.

Rest in Peace Uncle Duane, you will be missed...

Uncle Duane always. Lots of early memories growing up. Fast Pontiacs on the old gravel McKay Rd, ranching on the home place, out trucking for weeks...he got all he could out of life.....

Memories of My Brother Duane

Looking back I always remember the time Duane bought me a lavender plaid dress from Erickson's Department Store. I was in 3rd grade. To have a dress bought from a store was a real treat for me back then. Mom made most of my dresses. I was thrilled to have a new spring dress. 

During this same time I remember he took me to school one morning. I did not have to ride the old number 12 school bus to Ochoco Grade School. He dropped me off his 1959 Catalina Pontiac. It was a hardtop and I thought I was real cool riding in his car.

Of course Duane thought I should learn to drive when I was about 14 and he wanted me to drive his car down our lane. I was scared to death but he called me a chicken so I drove.

One of my earliest memories of Duane is riding behind him bareback on Strawberry up at the ranch on McKay Creek. Strawberry was a small Indian Roan pony that Grandpa Fred Elliot had bought for his grandkids. Duane took me on a ride and he started galloping and I hung on for dear life. The more I screamed the faster he made Strawberry go.  

Being the youngest I did not remember Duane being at home too much. He stayed up at the ranch helping Grandma Ruth Elliott. I know he was involved with Boy Scouts through the church. Daddy helped with Scouts. In the bedroom he shared with brother John was a poster with a scout and the scout motto. I always thought the scout was Duane but when I got older I realized it was not him just a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes who resembled Duane. In my mind I can still see that poster.

I gave him credit for stepping up to the plate and taking his three children (Chis, Toddy, and Bob) and being a single parent in the early 1960's when not too many men were single dads.

He was a hard worker and tried to do the best he could under the circumstances of his life. No one can judge another person unless they have walked in his moccasins (an old Indian saying).

I say goodbye to him but have some fond memories and know he is in a better place. A happy reunion for him seeing Mom and Dad and his grandparents.

Rest in Peace My Brother!

OBITUARY

Duane Sylvan Morgan

May 20, 1941 – April 20, 2013

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