DUANE S. POPPLE
DUANE S. POPPLE
Duane S. Popple, 68, of Eau Claire, passed away Monday, February 24, 2020 at Marshfield Medical Center, Eau Claire, after a long and hard-fought battle with cancer.
Duane was born November 28, 1951 in Chippewa Falls to Samuel and Marcelline (Swan) Popple. He is a 1969 graduate of Colfax High School. He attended one year of college in Rice Lake to study art. In 1976, he earned a diploma for Electronic Servicing from Indianhead Technical Institute in Superior.
He married Kathleen Tuttle in 1970. They had two children and later divorced. He married Colleen Higgins on May 18, 2002 at Willow River State Park.
Duane is survived by his wife, Colleen; his children, Tony Popple of Richfield, MN, Erica (Bob Barnett) Popple of Portland, OR; sisters, Charlotte (Ed Grundtner) Sundstrom of Menomonie, Debra Casper of Bonita Springs, FL, Vicki Nielsen of Richfield, MN, Dawn Popple of Colfax; brothers, Jim (Sue) Popple of Eau Claire, Brian (Marita) Popple of Colfax; in-laws, Heather (Patrick) McManus of Dallas, Dan (Brenda) Higgins of Lakeville, MN; his mother’s siblings Romie (Kathy) Swan of Jim Falls, Denny (Clare) Swan of Milwaukee; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family, some who knew him as “Howdy.”
He is preceded in death by his parents; brothers-in-law, Mark Nielsen and Hugh Higgins; nieces, Nicole Sundstrom and Addyson Coates.
Duane held various jobs in Chippewa Falls, Superior and Solon Springs prior to going to work for the Village of Colfax in 1978. During his years in Colfax, he also served as a volunteer fire fighter and EMT. He worked for the village until 1990 and then went on to the Wisconsin DNR, where he worked as a Specialist in a number of different water-related programs until his retirement in May, 2015.
In his life he was most proud of his kids, his EMT service, his many years of regular blood donations and especially, his years protecting the environment working for the DNR. After retiring, he immensely enjoyed his retiree “Old Folks” breakfast club.
Duane had a passion for his family history, and his incredible memory for detail made for interesting stories. He also loved recalling his childhood years spent at what is now Willow River State Park.
Duane will be remembered for his quick wit, kind heart, love of talking with people, and consummate thrift saling skills! He and Colleen especially loved to travel, camp, attend concerts and hang out with family and friends. Duane was deeply loved and will be dearly missed.
A celebration of life service will take place at 1:00 p.m., Sunday, March 8, 2020, at Chippewa Valley Cremation Services – Celebration of Life Center, 1717 Devney Drive, Altoona (behind Charter Spectrum). Visitation will be held prior to the service from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Memorial donations in honor of Duane may be designated to the American Red Cross or American Cancer Society.
Chippewa Valley Cremation Services – Celebration of Life Center is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.chippewavalleycremation.com.
The family thanks Dr. Naqvi and the staff at Marshfield Medical Center for the wonderful care that Duane received.