Duane Baumgartner.
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Tribute to a Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother and Friend

Duane Baumgartner

 

 

            Duane,   Bunny,   Bubba,   Honey,   Dad,   Papa,   Grandpa,   Pop,   Teddy Bear,  Lollipop,   Candy Man,   #1,   Bummy,   Big D  and   Bumpy,  Duane was known by all these names, and they all fit.  Every one had a nickname for him.  He was born on October 2, 1936, in a house on 10th Street in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  His sister Marilyn was born 2 1/2 years later.  His father, Duane, worked for the edison company and was killed in June of 1940, leaving his mother Maxine to raise the two children.  Maxine bought a house on 33rd street and his grandmother joined the family to help raise the kids.  Duane loved living in that house, there was a neighborhood full of kids to play with, a creek at the end of the street and a factory near by that he could explore.  What more could a boy want?

 

Dad and I

 

In 1948, when Duane was 11, Maxine married Marvin Michel and there were changes in his life.  They remained in the 33rd street house until 1950 when the family moved to Davenport, Iowa.  Then in 1951, they moved to St. Luis, and on to California in 1952, arriving on the day of the Tahachipi earthquake.  The family came to California towing a 33 ft. house trailer, with a Nash car and an extra car they were bringing to a dealer in California.  Sometimes, they hooked both cars together to get the trailer over the mountain passes. 

 

They settled in Burbank, where Duane attended Burbank High School.  He was on the track team and became very interested in photography.  He also joined the National Guard.  By this time, Mom & Marv had started a family of their own, and over a period of time, along came Tom, Pat, Rex, Julie & Mary Alice.  As the family grew, they needed to move out of the trailer and settled in a house in Burbank.

 

Mom and dad 1974

In August of 1954, the family moved to Canoga Park.  Duane attended Canoga Park High School for one (1) day and found that they did not offer photography classes, and he was too late to join the track team, so he never went back.  He announced to the family that he was joining the army and soon enlisted.  He was sent to, Fort Ord, California, or as he called it, “Fort Pneumonia by the Sea”, where he took his boot camp.  He had an inside track there, as his aunt worked at the enlisted man’s club.  He got lots of special treatment because of her, and he was often able to leave the base.  She would pick him up and get him past the guards and  take him to town.

 

Duane spent much of his army time in Germany, which he loved.  He was able to travel some while he was there, and that was quite an adventure for him.  Arriving back in the United States, he was sent to Lawton, Oklahoma and that was quite a shock, coming from the lush green mountains of Germany.  After his discharge, he came back to Canoga Park.  He held several jobs, working in a junk yard, roofing, anything he could find. 

 

Kelly, Dad and I

In 1959 he started working for his brother-in-law in a garage and gas station in Thousand Oaks.  The story goes that a certain young lady who frequented the station knew that one of the young men there was married, and since she was partial to the tall, blond one, she assumed he was the one that was married.  Duane was a brave man, the first time Judy & Duane spent any time together, she had borrowed a pick-up truck to move Mark Perfects motorcycle to Santa Monica.  Duane agreed to ride in the back of the truck to hold up the motorcycle while she drove through Las Virgines canyon to the coast.  From that time on, he could be found at her house most every evening. 

 

They had a whirl wind courtship that lasted all of 4 months before they were married on February 12, 1960.  Judy was in beauty school, so they moved to Van Nuys so they could be closer to her school.  Duane had met people at the gas station, and he had the promise of a job at A.M. Lewis in Northridge, a wholesale grocery supply.  He started by loading trucks at night on the frozen food dock.  After about a year, he wanted to learn to drive and he was a driver for A.M. Lewis for almost 30 years until they closed in 1988.  It was a good job, and he made many good, long time friends while working there. 

 

Ana Capa yellows.

Duane & Judy started their family with the birth of a daughter, Kelly Marie in December of 1960.  By this time, they had purchased their first home on Rancho Rd. in Thousand Oaks, and in May of 1967, a son, Drew was born.  In 1972, they purchased their present home alongside Judy’s parents, Homer & Marie Bradley.  It was a good arrangement, the Bradley’s were retired and traveling part time, and the house on Conejo School Road was a perfect place to raise a family.  The family enjoyed traveling, camping and being together.  They often traveled with Judy’s parents.  Homer, Duane and Drew, when he was old enough, were fishing buddies.  They fished for trout in the Sierras, Yellowtail in San Diego and best of all, Salmon in the Pacific Northwest.  For Duane & Judy, there was never a wasted vacation day, there were always places to go.  They made several trips to Alaska, a few back to Iowa and some just sightseeing around the country.

 

Time passed and the children grew up.  Kelly married and her first child, a girl, Amanda Lynn was born in June of 1986.  A son, Bradley Reynold, followed in August of 1990.  Duane’s greatest pleasure was his family, so he really enjoyed his grandchildren.  Kelly’s family joined in the trips when possible, and if they could not go, Duane & Judy took the grandchildren if they could.  Kelly divorced in 1998 and Duane took over being the kid taxi for Amanda & Bradley, when needed.  Kelly met Scott Robison in 2003 and they married in April of 2004.

 

The whole family

Drew had other interests about this time, and motorcycles and girls took up most of his time.  He married in May of 1998.   He divorced in 2003 and took up his old hobby of fishing.  By this time Homer, Duane’s old fishing buddy,  was gone so he didn’t have much desire to fish anymore.

 

Duane & Judy retired in 1995 after Duane’s heart valve replacement surgery.  Duane became a full time husband & grandpa.  They continued to travel and had several good trips.  In August of 2003 they left for a 3 month trip through eastern Canada and New England, arriving home in time for Thanksgiving.  During Easter vacation last year, Bradley traveled with Judy & Duane to Las Vegas and up the Alien Highway to Lake Tahoe.   Their most recent trip was to Churchill, Manitoba to see the polar bears, this past October. 

 

Hat made by brad just for Grandpa.

In February of this year, Duane developed a blood clot in his leg.  This being quite unusual as he had taken a blood thinner since his heart surgery.  They put in a filter for the clots, and sent him home to heal.  He did not respond well, and returned to the hospital and developed a blood clot in the other leg.  At this time while searching for the cause they discovered cancer in the liver.  With only a small chance of remission, he tried Chemotherapy in the hope that it would help.  He came home, but continued to decline over the next several weeks.  He died at home, with his family around him, early in the morning of April 21st.

 

Duane was a big, soft, gentle man, who worked hard to provide for his family.  He loved to laugh, and teased people he liked, unmercifully.  He walked slow, talked slow, and often didn’t have much to say, but you had to listen carefully because he had a quick wit, a good sense of humor and you never knew what he was going to say.  He was patient, loving and kind and we all knew we were loved.

 

We love you dad, thanks for everything and we will see you soon. Just not too soon.

For those that could not make it to the funeral a little of what you missed. There is not enough time or room and pictures to sum up the life of this great man and all of his family and friends. We know your thoughts and prayers are with us and ours are with you. Know that we miss you and hope to see you when we can. Love to all of you from the Baumgartner, Hosking, Robison families.



you were my father and my friend and will live in me forever. Thank you for always making sure I had everything I needed even if I didn't know what it was. All my love.. Drew.