Duane Merlin Berglund

Duane Berglund was a devoted husband of 63 years to his high school sweetheart, Eileen, and will be remembered as creative, introverted, dedicated, hopelessly optimistic, talented, and faithful. Just don’t mess with his hair or take it personally when you overhear him say, “I thought they’d never leave.”

He and his “younger” twin brother often joked that David kicked Duane out of their mother’s womb. They experienced big changes in rural life: the shift from outhouses to indoor plumbing, and from kerosene lighting to electricity. On the small rural family farm, he grew up caring for cows, chickens, pigs, and ponies while enjoying fresh milk and Myrtle’s excellent cooking. Duane took great pride in his rural upbringing in South Dakota. He shared his stories on the backside of the annual family Christmas letter and on homemade birthday cards for decades. With help from his kids, he compiled the stories and self-published a book, Collection of Duane’s Life Stories, focusing largely on his childhood.

He leveraged his mechanical engineering degree from South Dakota State University into a long career in management information systems at Allis Chalmers and later at MGIC. From the 1960s on, he was enthralled with what computers could do and in 1984 bought his first personal computer: a Korean-made Leading Edge (the ones with the floppy disc and the amber text-only monitor).

He was rarely separated from his computer and he loved new tech. When he and Eileen lived in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, he had a ministry where he helped older people use email, do internet searches, and more. Over the years, he collected and scanned thousands of recipes and family photos, wrote down his stories, developed an extensive family tree, and published the Poulsbo Place HOA community monthly newsletter featuring gorgeous color photos of the neighborhood. He was leaned on as the family historian and was proud to share his vast digital library at family gatherings and reunions.

As a faithful servant of God with natural leadership talents, he found himself in many church leadership and teaching roles. His natural ability to lead found him managing for the US Census and acting as Scoutmaster of his son’s Boy Scout troop. Over the years, Duane served as board president of an HOA in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, president of a large Milwaukee church, president of several non-profit Las Vegas thrift stores, and a board member and webmaster for the Poulsbo Place Owners Association.

If you know Duane, you know he is a sports fan. The kind that yells at the television when there is a bad call (“C’mon!!!”) and texts and calls his brother, Dave, and his son, Mike, to share how much he loved the win or how much he hated the loss. Even after living in multiple states, he still maintained a love for his Wisconsin sports teams: the Packers, Badgers, Brewers, and Bucks. His FAVORITE time of the year was the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, when he would prioritize watching as many games as he could.

His interest in sports began as a high-achieving school athlete in track, football, basketball, and baseball. As an adult, he continued playing basketball and softball for an Allis Chalmers intramural team and an Ascension Lutheran Church team. His basketball shooting skills made him a high scorer, and he would opine that if he had bigger hands and a much better vertical, he “could have gone pro.” (Did we mention his hopeless optimism?)

He had a talent for building things: from benches to picnic tables to house renovations. He built a custom room divider with a built-in turntable cradle, a backyard basketball court, and a loft bed for his granddaughter. He would proudly share how, as a young man, he painted houses and barns in the South Dakota summers to raise money for college and other needs. There was little he would not try once, but he often said that doing a project once was enough.

Duane stayed connected with a wide network of friends, family, and colleagues from all the places he lived and worked, including northeastern South Dakota; West Allis, Wisconsin; Henderson, Nevada; Irvine, California; Eau Claire; and Poulsbo, Washington. Those of you reading this now are likely some of them.

Duane was a loving son, brother, husband, father, friend, and neighbor. He was loved and will be deeply missed, and carried in the hearts of many people who were fortunate enough to have him touch their lives. May he rest in peace.

Duane Berglund passed away on October 31, 2023, in a Silverdale, Washington hospital after suffering a stroke at his home in Poulsbo. Those who left this earth before Duane include his parents, Myrtle and Elmer, and his grandchild, Zooey Hesterberg. Those who remain here include his wife Eileen Olson; his brother David (Karen); his four children, Gena (John Hesterberg), Mike (Eileen Slattery Berglund), Beth, and Pam (Scott Lundh) BergLundh; and his five grandchildren, Michelle (Jessie Briol) Hesterberg, Arianna (Spencer Weckwerth, life partner) Hesterberg, Taylor, Killoran Cassandra (David Cifuentes) Cifuentes, and Amelia BergLundh.

Donations in his memory may be directed to the Gateway Christian Schools Foundation in Silverdale, WA. gatewaychristianschoolsfoundation.org Nonprofit Tax ID: 87-3648562