Magee, Duane - 1926-2006

MAGEE, SCHAAFSMA

Posted By: Linda Vander Linden - Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/28/2010 at 12:26:42

Duane Magee, 79, of Hospers died Monday, February 6, at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center in Sioux City after a short illness.

Funeral service was Thursday at 10:30 A.M., at First Presbyterian Church in Hospers with the Rev. Brian Janssen officiating. Interment was at the Hospers (West) Cemetery.

Magee was born in Castlewood, South Dakota, on February 20, 1926 to Gladys (Weis) and Hugh Magee. At the age of one year, he moved to Hospers and was raised by his grandparents, Gerrit and Elizabeth Mouw. Some of his best memories were of hunting and trapping along the Floyd River. After graduating from Hospers High School in 1943, he briefly worked for Douglas Aircraft in California. He then enlisted in the Navy in February of 1944, and served on the USS Talladega. He spent his 19th birthday at the battle of Iwo Jima. He married his childhood sweetheart, Anna Beth Schaafsma, on December 27, 1946 at Hospers. After attending Westmar College in LeMars, they moved to Missoula, Montana, where he attended the University of Montana, graduating in 1951 with a degree in forestry/range Management. They lived in Circle and Winnett, Montana, while he worked for the Soil Conservation Service. In 1954 he went to work for Lion Oil Company in Bismarck, North Dakota, as a petroleum landman. Working as a landman would take them to Colorado, Arkansas, Kansas, and Midland, Texas, where they lived for 30 years. In 1960 he and two friends formed their own company. He was an active member of the Permian Basin Landman's Association. In 1987 they returned to Hospers, where they have since made their home.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Hospers. He loved to travel in Europe, and he and Anna Beth made nine trips.

Survivors include his wife, Anna Beth; daughter, Diane Gaston (Lonnie) of Midland, Texas; two sons, Tom Magee (Cindy) of Emmetsburg and Jack Magee (Dawn) of Pierre, South Dakota; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and his stepfather, Vince Bram, of Glendale, California.

Source: Sioux Center News, February 15, 2006