Duane E. Gagon

Duane E. Gagon, 77, passed away at a local hospital, Thursday, December 27, 2012.

Duane was born February 20, 1935 in Soda Springs, Idaho, a son to Otto Herman and Lilly (Vorwaller) Gagon. He graduated from Soda Springs High School and went to live with an aunt and uncle in California. While there, he attended two years of college and worked laying tile. It was also at this time he met the love of his life, Kathleen M. Hardy, whom he married in Anaheim, California in 1956.

Duane and his bride moved to Soda Springs shortly after their marriage. It was then that he began working at Conda Mines as a heavy equipment operator and drilling and using dynamite. He was offered a position with J.R. Simplot in Pocatello as a safety engineer. A short while later he was offered a job transfer to Grandview to be a safety engineer at the Simplot feedlot there. That was short lived and his family returned to Pocatello and he was assigned to the Gay Mine where he worked until it closed and then went to the Simplot Plant where he continued as a safety engineer. He then worked at Lakeshore selling heavy equipment until it closed. He then took a position at ISU as a road crew safety inspector where he trained traffic control personnel (flaggers) how to maintain safety in construction zones. From there, Duane was offered a safety engineer position with INL and sat on the State Board with OSHA in Boise until he retired.

Duane was a long time member of NRA and Ducks Unlimited. He loved being in the outdoors, and was the happiest when he was fishing, hunting, boating, trap shooting, repairing and reloading guns and shotguns.

Duane is survived by his wife of 56 years, Kathy Gagon, Pocatello, ID; daughter, Helen (Kevin) Misner, Pocatello, ID; son, Lance (Noreen) Gagon, Arlington, TN; and four grandchildren, Ryan (Lindsay) Misner, Pocatello, ID; Jesse (Katrina) Misner, Pocatello, ID; Skylar (Julia) Misner, U.S. Navy; and Holly Misner, Pocatello.

Duane was preceded in death by his parents, Otto and Lilly Gagon and sister, Dorothy Oliverson.

Services for Duane can be found under the service schedule tab.

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