Duane Duey Perrett

Rock Rapids, IA                         Duey Perrett Slideshow

     Duane Perrett age 88, of Rock Rapids, IA died Saturday, January 29, 2022, at the Rock Rapids Health Centre.

     Memorial service will be 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 2^nd at the Peace Lutheran Church in Rock Rapids, IA, with Reverend Alex Sloter, officiating.

     Visitation will be Tuesday, February 1^st from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., with family present at the Jurrens Funeral Home of Rock Rapids.

     Duane Duey Perrett was born August 23, 1933, in Leeds, Iowa, to William James and Vera Elva (Henshaw) Perrett. Duey attended Hawthorne Elementary School and graduated from (Sioux City) Leeds High School. He was an outstanding athlete in both football and basketball – receiving All State, All Northwest Iowa, and 1^st team All-City – noting that in those days there was only one class in sports. He led Sioux City in scoring in football for many years and bragged about scoring five touchdowns in one game in high school.

     His first job was at Mort Fish Turkey Farm – working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for $5.00 a day. He worked for a time at Jolly Time Popcorn Company and at Armour Packing Company in Sioux City, Iowa. In August 1951, he enlisted for a four-year term with the U.S. Air Force. He started his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and completed his training in Wichita Falls, Texas. Duey attended a radio operator school in Biloxi, Mississippi, for nine months, and in the summer of 1952, he went on to Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, where he continued his schooling for radio intercept. In June 1953 of the Korean War, he was shipped out on a troop ship from Oakland, California, to Tokyo, Japan. For thirty days he stayed at the air base in downtown Tokyo – three blocks from the Imperial Palace – waiting for more orders. He flew to Okinawa where he was a radio operator keeping track of bombers and ships by translating Morse code. While in the South Pacific, he played football for the Naha Eagles of the Naha Air Force Base and was selected to play in and went on to win the All-star game in Tokyo. On Christmas Day 1954, he boarded a ship for the 15-day trip back to the United States, landing in San Francisco Bay. After a 45-day leave at home, he bought a 1951 fire engine red Ford convertible and drove to Fort Walden Beach, Florida, where he worked in the mailroom until he was honorably discharged in September 1955.

     After being discharged, Duey returned home and enrolled at Morningside College for a short time. He worked on the Great Northern Burlington Railroad for almost a decade and competed in many Golden Glove Boxing exhibition matches. Duey completed his bachelor’s degree from the College of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas, in 1967. He moved to Sarcoxie, Missouri, where he taught for two years and was head football and track coach, assistant basketball coach, and athletic director. He did this all while attending Pittsburg University in Pittsburg, Kansas, at night, on the weekends, and in the summers to receive his master’s degree in education.

     After receiving his master’s, he moved to Rock Rapids, Iowa, and taught for twenty-seven years at Central Lyon in the special education department. While teaching he went to Augustana College and received a second master’s degree in special education and learning disabilities. He continued his passion for sports as head basketball coach, assistant football and track coach, girl’s 9^th grade basketball coach, and junior high football coach. He retired from teaching in 1996.

     Starting in 1983, Duey spent the summers hauling freight for Moe Schubert at McCormack Transportation. Through the years he drove semi all over the country – traveling to most major cities in the US. After retiring from teaching, Duey hauled freight full time for Moe until 2001, hauled grain for Anderson Feeds, Inc. for nearly a decade, and hauled propane for Popkes Oil & Propane Co. for nearly another decade.

      Duey enjoyed working, fishing, and sunbathing; but most of all, he enjoyed watching his children and grandchildren grow up, attending nearly all their sporting events, and witnessing their many accomplishments. He beamed with pride looking back on his long career and his family’s successes.

     He is survived by his wife Patty, four children: Ronae Neisen of Russellville, Arkansas; Brett (Leanna) Perrett of Lamar, Arkansas; Preston (Niki) Perrett of Rock Rapids, Iowa; Houston Perrett of Nashville, Tennessee, five grandchildren: Katelynn (Giles) Harness of Harrison, Arkansas; Colt, Chase, Corbin, and Cambree Perrett of Rock Rapids, Iowa, and many nieces and nephews.

     He was preceded in death by his parents: William and Vera Perrett, his brother James Perrett, his sister Donna Nelson, his infant daughter Lori Ann Perrett, his father-in-law Mike Lupkes, and his brother-in-law John Lepsch.