Duke Gaffney

1955 - 1959 U.S. Marine Corps

1960 - 1963 U.S. Army

1980 - 1984 U.S. Air Force

Duke was born Patrick Duke Gaffney. He hated the name Patrick, so he went by his middle name of Duke. Duke was born in Florence, Ariz., on Nov. 30, 1938, to Scott and Bonnie Gaffney. Duke was the youngest, having two older sisters, Scottie and Gaye. Duke's dad was gone a lot, working with the railroad, and Mom also worked.

Duke started to get into trouble, so one day, he decided to join the Marines. He had to get permission paperwork signed by his parents due to the age factor. Duke joined the Marines at 17. Duke spent his Marine time in Okinawa. After leaving the Marines, he spent time being Duke, then he decided to go back into the military. This time he joined the Army.

While in the Army he met his first wife, Carol. They had three children: Rhonda, Duke and Matthew. The marriage ended because she did not want to be a military wife. Duke spent his Army time in Europe. After getting out of the Army, Duke did several jobs which in turn led him to Hughes Aircraft Spares Division, in Fullerton, Calif.

While working at Hughes, Duke met Paulette, soon to be his “one and only.” After a short courtship (6 months), Duke and Paulette were married and spent 52 wonderful years as husband and wife.

When the aircraft industry was going downhill, Duke's position with Hughes Aircraft was eliminated. Duke did not waste any time going back to work; he wanted a construction job building houses. As time went on, Duke climbed the ladder to become a manager at the companies he worked. He had a great work history; he was constantly having headhunter's calling. At one point Duke became known as the "Red Adair" of the construction field.

Construction started to fall. In 1980, Duke joined the Air Force and was stationed out of McClellan Air Force Base, in Sacramento, Calif. Due to the base being a SAC Base, Duke never talked about his time in the Air Force. After Duke got out of the Air Force he went back into his field of construction, which he remained until moving to Idaho.

One day while shopping in Sears, a Marine Corps League member recruited Duke to join the Pappy Boyington Detachment. He joined and spent 10 years participating in all functions with the League. Duke became the recruiter and received awards for all of his efforts, increasing membership. Then in 2014, Duke received the honor of being "Marine Of The Year," which he held near and dear to his heart. Duke loved the League. You would see him laughing, telling jokes and stories; Duke loved life and sports.

In January 2012, Duke was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and everything changed. Duke had a hard battle, but the battle ended on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. A memorial service is planned for a later date.

To All My Brothers and Sisters

Sempre Fi