Ervin Lester (Puss) Duncan

Funeral Service: 1 PM Wednesday at Hawkins Funeral Chapel. Burial: 4 PM at Dye Mound Cemetery in St. Jo. Family will receive friends 6-8 PM Tuesday at the funeral home.

Ervin Lester "Puss" Duncan lived 81 years. He was born on December 8, 1927, the son of Lester "Legs" Duncan and Ila Ione (Shaw) Duncan in Terrel, Oklahoma. Ervin married Mary Sue Maples in 1957 and they raised two daughters and a son in Bridgeport: Pam Martin, Sharla Duncan, and David Duncan.

Pam blessed her daddy with two grandchildren, Katy Wright Fox and Brandon Wright. Katy blessed us all with a daughter, a son, and later a stepdaughter: Ripley, Luke and then Cailin, the great grandchildren. Brandon blessed us all with his daughter, Lauren, the first great grandchild. David blessed his daddy with two pretty little granddaughters, Brandy and Brittany Duncan. Ervin's wife, children, and grandchildren will sorely miss him, but feel blessed to have him these many years.

Ervin was a veteran of the United States Army and served in Germany during World War II. He was always proud of his military service and the time spent in Germany.

Retired from Natural Gas Pipeline (NGPL) in 1954 ater 38 years of service, his work brought him to Bridgeport after about a year in Borger, Texas. He had many long time friends from NGPL.

Ervin grew up with eight brothers and sisters during the Depression in and around Terrel, Oklahoma. He had many stories to tell of picking cotton and "getting by". Among this big brood's blessed mother's claim to fame with her children and later all the grandchildren was her mouth watering biscuits. Her family, no matter how big it grew, never gathered for breakfast without enjoying every bite of biscuit. After her death, whenever another family member dies, it is said that "Grannys making biscuits" for those who gather together one by one at her side once again for a big family breakfast. A brother and two sisters have gone on before him as well as two nieces and a nephew. A brother and four sisters are left here to miss him. Granny made biscuits on May 31, 2009 and welcomed her son, Ervin, to the breakfast table.

Ervin was the man that walked all over Bridgeport. This was his exercise and entertainment. He walked daily almost up until his 80th birthday. He stopped in at "the coffee shop and the car wash and visited with friends and many others along his route. He would greet anyone he knew and inquire of their lives and health. It is said of him that "he never met a stranger". Being with people is what he missed the most when he fell too ill to make the walk anymore.

The children of Ervin state "Cancer took our daddy, but it did not take his heart, dignity, humor, and all the memories we have been graced with."