Duke Moreau

Duke was born a Karikas on April 17, 1954 in Regina, Saskatchewan. A year later his sister Dianne was born and their mother moved back home to the family farm in Eastend, Saskatchewan.

It was here his mom met and married Ludger (Pete) Moreau of Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. Pete adopted Duke and Dianne and they became the older brother and sister to three more siblings, Mary Jane, Michael and Lisa.

Duke enjoyed growing up on the farm and most of his schooling was in Shaunavon. Right after high school graduation, Duke felt the call to serve and joined the Canadian military, spending three years in the signal squadron. Duke decided to move on and ended his service when stationed in Calgary. He then took up various jobs throughout Alberta: security guard, service station tire bays, seismic jobs, rural fuel truck driver and manager.

It was while working at the rural general store at Neapolis, east of Didsbury where he would meet his wife Maxine and that was the beginning of almost 45 years of marriage.

Duke continued as fuel truck driver for several years before he and Maxine started their own bulk fuel agency - Dumax Petroleum with Turbo Resources – in 1987. Duke and Maxine made it work for 15 years. After that, Duke went on to work for UFA in Olds where he stayed for 18 years.

In 2015, Duke was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He continued to work, never skipping a beat, until 2020 when the pandemic hit, and his kids convinced him to retire.

Over the years, Duke and Maxine were very blessed with three children. Melissa, Dayna and Dustin. They first lived east of Didsbury, then moved to the Town of Didsbury, and eventually built their log home on an acreage on the south side of Didsbury – where they have settled for 30 years.

In time the family grew to include three in-laws – Greg, Jason and Lana. Then came one of his greatest joys: becoming Grandpa to eight grandchildren.

He loved his Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal Canadians, he loved Star Trek and Stargate, and he enjoyed playing games or cards.

Duke was a volunteer and did not hesitate to take on the executive roles of the local trade show, the remote-control plane club, the football league, the curling club, the soccer club and the hockey board. He spent many years coaching and officiating hockey, football and baseball. He was a member of the church council and joined the Knights of Columbus where he earned his 4th degree.

Duke and Maxine enjoyed some travel to locations in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the USA. Some highlighted trips included taking their family to Disneyland and their trips to Hawaii, the East Coast and Australia.

Duke was a lifelong collector of comics, coins, and war history books. He loved working in the yard, tending to the garden and green house, building model train landscapes, flying remote control planes, making very good wine, and ending each day by reading a good western novel.

And if something needed fixing or building Duke would get it done. He was very handy around the house and yard doing most of all repairs and maintenance needed. Duke always had a project on the go for his wife, one of the kids or grandkids.

Duke is lovingly remembered by his wife, Maxine; daughter, Melissa (Jason) Bell and their children, Asher, Emberly and Ryker; daughter, Dayna (Greg) Mensaghi and their children, Evan, Luke and Reid; son, Dustin (Lana) Moreau and their children, Eli and Marlee.

He was predeceased by their infant son Ethan; his parents, Rita and Ludger; his sister, Lisa; his parents-in-law, grandparents and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

Duke’s faith was very strong throughout his ten-year battle with cancer. He faced every challenge with courage and grace, accepting the will of God without complaint. Unfortunately, it was his failing heart that led to his sudden passing.

The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and support staff at both the Didsbury Hospital and the Foothills Medical Center for the exceptional care and support given to Duke and the family.