Duane Buckley Mayer

Duane B. Mayer, age 81, of Willmar, passed away unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, October 10, at the St. Cloud Hospital.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, October 16, at the Church of St. Mary in Willmar.  Interment will be in the church cemetery.  A Knights of Columbus Rosary service will begin at 3:30 p.m. followed by the visitation from 4-6 p.m. on Sunday, October 15, at the Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar.  Visitation will also continue for one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday.  Arrangements are entrusted to the Peterson Brothers Funeral Home.  www.petersonbrothers.com

Duane Buckley Mayer was born on December 16, 1941, in Pine River, Minnesota, the son of Robert and Rosella (Stehr) Mayer.  He grew up in the country between Pine River and Longville and graduated from Longville High School in 1959.  Following high school, Duane moved to St. Paul and began work as a clerk with the Great Northern Railroad in August of 1959.  On September 8, 1962, Duane was united in marriage to Evelyn Marie Veach at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oelwein, Iowa.  This union was blessed with four children, Deborah, Patricia, Dwight and Mark.  The family made their home in St. Paul and St. Croix Beach.  In 1972, Duane was transferred with the Burlington Northern Railroad to Willmar and retired in 2002.  He was a member of the Church of St. Mary, the Knights of Columbus and the Transportation Communication Union.  Duane enjoyed hunting, fishing, woodworking, traveling with his wife and spending time with his family, especially his granddaughters and great grandchildren.

He is survived by his loving wife of over 61 years, Evelyn; his four children, Deborah (and John) Weckman of Spicer, Patricia (and Mike) Schmidt of Willmar, Dwight (and Laura) Mayer of Appleton and Mark (and Nancy) Mayer of Frederic, WI.; four granddaughters, Amy Schwab, Sarah Doesken, KariLynn (and Gideon) Powell and Grace Mayer (and fiancé, Zach); six great grandchildren and two sisters, Benetta (and Manley) Olson of North Branch and Linda (and Dave) Lusthoff of Goose Creek, SC., besides other relatives and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Dwight and Garry.