Duane Arthur Brelsford, 78, passed away in the wee hours of March 1 from causes related to age and multiple sclerosis. He was surrounded by his family during his final week of life, and he passed peacefully with his wife of 60 years, Esther, by his side.
Duane was born August 9, 1937 in Lewiston, Idaho (Pullman had no maternity hospital at the time). He was the second of three sons. His father, Arthur (1897-1984), was a drywaller and plasterer; his mother, Grace (1907-1997), was a cook at Washington State University. Both were Dust Bowl refugees out of South Dakota. Duane was proud of his Pullman upbringing, citing his hard-working parents who raised 3 lively boys in a modest 2-bedroom, 1-bath house on Military Hill. His mother grew up on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Reservation and was a high school graduate with a modest college education while his father left school after the third grade and succeeded in business in spite of being unable to read and write. Duane's college days were cut short, but he valued formal education. He jokingly bragged about graduating Pullman High School near the rock bottom of his class (which is true), and he often told his children and grandchildren one of his crowning achievements in life was to see all of them attend university or professional school.
Duane eloped with his high school sweetheart, Esther Cunnington, immediately after graduation. That year, Duane was Vice President and Esther was Secretary of the senior class of 1955. They were married in Coeur d'Alene and honeymooned in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Their daughter, Terri Lee, was born during their first year of marriage, and she was the apple of her daddy's eye. Son Kenneth Duane followed soon after, and he proved to be such a handful that when Esther became pregnant with their third child, she threatened to leave if it was a boy. Fortunately for all concerned, Tracie Nadine was a girl.
Duane worked at Merchant Funeral Home in Clarkston in 1956-57 before moving back to Pullman to work at Standard Lumber Company from 1957 until 1965. On the side, he enjoyed working summer harvest for several area farming families. Working at Standard Lumber Company inspired him to start building homes and launched his career as a general contractor. He built his first spec house at the age of 20, just a few blocks from his boyhood home. By the age of 25, he had built several apartment buildings and duplexes, which he and Esther managed. He tried his hand at various other business ventures, including starting Northwest Paving Company with partner Bill Poppie and Highland Builders with partner Lorry McCroskey, but he always came back to being an independent general contractor. He started DABCO (Duane A. Brelsford Company) Construction around 1970 and never looked back, building dozens of spec and custom homes over several years. He instilled in his kids his strong work ethic, reassuring them not be afraid to make a mistake as there was nothing they could do that he couldn't fix (a theory his son challenged many times).
About the time he turned 40, Duane was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which affected his balance, coordination and gait. He was determined to work through it, joking about it as much as he cursed it. Deciding that MS was not going to define his life, he kept on building, traveling and playing. His work kept him busy and sometimes away from home for long stretches, but he valued quality time with his family. He rented a cabin for several years on Lake Coeur d'Alene where he taught his kids to drive a boat, water ski and ride motorbikes, and in the winter time he taught them to snow ski and drive snow mobiles. He also enjoyed flying his own plane, including an unchartered trip to the Yucutan Peninsula with a friend, and dabbled in stock car racing.
In 1991, Duane formed a partnership with his son and Bill and Jerry Motley to build Providence Court Apartments. Its success led to building other apartment complexes in Pullman. Duane retired from construction and he and Esther, who had worked as a legal assistant and Realtor for many years, formed a property management company to manage the new apartments. This company, DABCO Property Management, is now overseen by their children.
He was an enthusiastic supporter of WSU Athletics and Cougar Football – almost without exception all of his kids and grandkids attended WSU and are Cougs - and a supporter of the university in general. From his warm suite at the newly remodeled football stadium, he liked to regale his friends with stories of sneaking under the wooden grandstands to get into Cougar football games as a kid.
Duane enjoyed the camaraderie and fellowship of his lifelong friends and Pullman business people. He and Esther were early members of the Pullman Jaycees, and he served many years on the board of Pullman's Junior Miss, including one year as Chairman. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Pullman Planning Commission, Lion's Club, and Good Fellowship/Jolly Boys. For many years, he enjoyed his morning pancake and coffee with a coffee klatch they named the Little U.N., a group of local curmudgeons who discussed and solved the world's problems before most people got out of bed. In 2011, Duane and Esther were inducted into Pullman's Downtown Walk of Fame for their lifetime contribution to Pullman life and business.
With their business in their kids' hands, Duane and Esther enjoyed a full retirement in 2003. They purchased a motor coach and traveled the country, and for the past several years they've enjoyed a second home in Arizona among other Pacific Northwest snowbirds. They also traveled annually to Cabo San Lucas. In 2013, they returned to Lake Coeur d'Alene, the scene of so many years of family fun, to build a cabin near Conkling Park Marina and spend their summers among friends and family there.
MS knocked Duane off his feet for good late in the summer of 2015. His short-term memory was also fading, but he never lost his ability to light up in conversation with new and old friends, and his quick and sarcastic wit didn't fail him. He moved to Bishop Place in September where he could receive assistance with daily tasks and mobility. He resided there until an opportunistic infection launched a full-on assault on his kidneys. During his final hospitalization in February, he was able to visit with his kids and grandchildren with surprising lucidity, and he turned his old charm on the doctors and nurses while fighting the good fight, until he could no longer.
Duane is survived by his wife, Esther, of Pullman; his daughter, Terri, and son-in-law Michael Williamson, of Vancouver, Washington; son K. Duane and daughter-in-law Terri, of Pullman; daughter Tracie of Pullman; grandchildren Daniel and David Williamson, Nicole (Travis) Morscheck and Brandi Brelsford; great grandsons Ledger and Bennett Williamson and Landon and Casen Morscheck; his brothers Vess Brelsford of Pullman and Lloyd Brelsford and sister-in-law Jean of Seattle, and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Grace Bailly Brelsford, and sister-in-law Helen Brelsford. He leaves his many friends and family with happy memories of a life well lived.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Banyans on the Ridge on Saturday, April 30 at 2:00pm. The family would love to see you there and hear your memories of Duane, Sr., and to help them fulfill his wish, that when he was gone, there would be no tears, but a lot of laughter and good stories. Kimball Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.