Duane was born June 18, 1932, in Darke County to the late Alvin & Myrtle “Marie” (Bailey) Gilbert. In addition to his parents, Duane was also preceded in death by his brothers, Jim & Gene Gilbert; and a sister, Marlene Gilbert.
Duane is survived by his wife of 40 years, Alma Lea (Rhoades) Gilbert whom he married February 7, 1970; children, Vicky Gilbert Hamilton of Lebanon, Bonita Kim & Ward Chapin of Vancouver, British Columbia and Tim Gilbert of Greenville; step children, Angela & Ron Dapore of Vandalia, Kathy & Al Wilkins of Marathon, Florida, Anne & Doug Fike of Cincinnati and Max & Candy Sharp of Vandalia; grandchildren, Andrew Hamilton, Caroline Hamilton and Alexandra Hamilton; and numerous step grandchildren and step great grandchildren.
Duane served in the 11th Airborne Signal Company, during the Korean War. Duane completed 19 jumps at this time. He was Sergeant in the Telephone and Teletype division. He inspected up to Division with the Inspector General’s office. Duane managed and owned Commercial and Industrial Construction Companies in 3 states for 20 years. He was plant manager for 20 years of glass tempering plants in Ohio, Texas and California. He helped develop and build the first continuous tempering furnace being used today in the United States. Duane spent 5 years of management consulting with companies in Dayton. Duane also did remodeling and repair work for individuals and companies and farmed in Darke County for 10 years.
A funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 10, 2018, at Zechar Bailey Funeral Home in Greenville with Pastor Chris Cobb officiating. Burial will follow in West Branch Cemetery in Darke County. The family will receive friends on Friday from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project P.O. Box 758517 Topeka, Kansas 66675-8517. Condolences for the family may be expressed through www.zecharbailey.com
