Duane Francis Moser

Duane Francis Moser was born July 8, 1941, in Lewiston, to Francis Roy and Evalona Mae McGee Moser. He was the oldest of four children: followed by three sisters, Vickie, Shirlene and Linda.

He attended Colton High School, where he excelled at football, baseball and basketball. After high school, he began working alongside his father at the Whitman County Road Department in Colton, a job which generations of Mosers before him held.

He married Jeanne Beuke on Sept. 1, 1962, and they made their home in Colton, where they raised their two daughters, Kris and Karen. He made a career at Washington State University as an agricultural research technician in the wheat breeding program.

Duane’s most prized possession was his family. He and Jeanne spent many years taking their daughters to rodeos, a sport they became involved in at a young age and continued into adulthood.

His retirement years were filled with a great deal of travel. They enjoyed trips to the Oregon coast, Laughlin, Nevada, and enjoyed an Alaskan cruise.

Duane and Jeanne enjoyed watching the grandchildren participate in sports, which included football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, wrestling, track and rodeo.

Duane had many hobbies. He was a longtime member of the Colton Gun Club, where he competed in trapshooting. He was an avid hunter and enjoyed fishing.

His love for the river was apparent in his collection of boats, which included a jet boat he built from scratch with the help of his cousin, Gary Moser.

Duane was handy in the shop, building, fixing or modifying just about anything. He was known for tweaking or modifying even new purchases to meet his specifications.

During his years at WSU, he built a plot-seeding implement from scratch, and plot harvesters.

During his retirement years, he enjoyed rebuilding tractors, fixing small-engine equipment and a variety of similar projects. Two of his most prized projects were the rebuild of two motorcycles for his grandsons, and a build of a front-end loader for a lawn tractor.

He also had a lifelong love for music, having a band in his younger years that played at weddings, dances and celebrations for many years. His love for music and playing the guitar was passed along to his grandchildren.

Although the Moser family has made sausage for generations, upon retirement Duane’s love for the trade grew to include the production of a variety of sausage, pepperoni and jerky recipes, which his family fondly refers to as “Moser’s Meats.”

In addition, he enjoyed making homemade root beer for his grandchildren and home brew for his buddies. He also enjoyed gardening, often growing enough produce to share with family, neighbors and friends.

Finally, he was a lifelong WSU Cougar fan. He enjoyed watching WSU sports, faithfully rooting on the Cougs, regardless if it was a winning season or a learning season. Both of his daughters and two sons-in-law attended WSU, along with his “favorite” granddaughter.

Duane was an honorary life member of the Knights of Columbus and the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

Duane is survived by his wife, Jeanne; daughters Kris (John) Harder and Karen (Ryan) Young; grandchildren Kallie, Jay and Jerod Harder, and Dillon and Preston Young; sisters Vickie (Ron) Loomis, Shirlene (Mike) Weeks and Linda Weeks; and many nieces, nephews and special friends.

He was preceded in death by infant daughter Christine Lynn and parents Roy and Evalona Moser.

A service will be held at 1 p.m. March 3 at St. Gall’s Catholic Church in Colton, followed by a celebration of life at the Colton Gun Club. We invite anyone to share memories at the celebration.

A memorial trapshoot with a $5 donation to Colton Gun Club will follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Duane’s name to Colton Gun Club, Colton Fire Department or the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center Cancer Center. Sign the online book of memories at http://merchantfuneralhome.com