L. Duane Yockey Obituary (1948

Lyle Duane Yockey “Duane”, 76, of Normal, Illinois, passed away at home on October 13, 2024 following a valiant, and most honorably fought, battle against cancer. Duane was born May 5, 1948 in Monticello, the son of Lyle C. and Marian (Wittig) Yockey. He married Carolyn Lois Perry at First United Methodist Church in Peoria, August 12, 1972. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn; children Laura (Kyle Uebelhor) of Oak Park, Brett of Urbana, and Marcia of Ann Arbor, MI; grandchildren through Laura, Emma, Reed, Ian, and Garrett, grandchildren through Brett, Claire and Elliott; and sisters, Barb Lucas (Mike), Spring Hill, FL and Bonnie Swango (Gregory), Champaign. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, Brenda Wisegarver (Roger), and brother, David. Duane earned his BS in Civil Engineering degree with honors from the University of Illinois in 1971 and became a licensed Professional Engineer in 1975. He was a member of Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honorary fraternity. He worked for IDOT and the City of Monticello public works department while in college. Post graduation, he was a Design Engineer at Daily & Associates in Peoria. He became a plant engineer at Keystone Steel & Wire Co. in 1973 working on transportation, environmental, structural, and air pollution control projects. In 1977, he became chief engineer at Keefauver, Hillegonds & Moldovan Engineers, Inc. In February 1983, the firm of Lewis, Yockey & Brown, Inc. was formed in Bloomington. Through his decades at this firm, Duane consulted on all aspects of civil engineering for the area, including water distribution and treatment, streets and highways, and subdivision development, and he remained Chairman of the Board at the time of his passing. Guided by his professional devotion and humble commitment to doing what needed to be done, Duane did A LOT. He was a member of the National Ground Water Association and was president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, chapter representative, and committee chairman for the Bloomington-Area Chapter of the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers (ISPE). He was the recipient of the 2001 Professional Engineering Management Award, the 2007 Mentor of the Year Award, the 2010 Distinguished Service Award, and the 2012 Illinois Award from ISPE. He was serving as ISPE State Vice President as of 2024. He had been state chairman of the Order of the Engineer Committee and served on the ISPE Honors and Awards Committee. He was a co-instructor for the basic waterworks operator training course and was a member of the American Water Works Association. He served on the McLean County Comprehensive Plan Subcommittee on Transportation, the Town of Normal 2025 Physical Environment Subcommittee, the Town of Normal 2030 Report steering committee, the McLean County Development Impact Study Advisory Committee, and the Bloomington Normal Water Reclamation District Facilities Planning Area Advisory Committee. As of 2024, he was the elected president of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Professional Engineers Board and over time had been a member, vice-president, and chairman of this board. Duane led by example and brought so much joy, laughter and wisdom into our lives. He was enormously patient and had a gift for calmly reacting to any situation to creatively find a solution while maintaining his fabulous sense of humor. His passions included astronomy, traveling, singing with choir and reading, and he always found ways to seek out and share knowledge. He loved time spent in nature, camping and canoeing, and he cherished the trips he made annually over 20 years to the Quetico and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He deeply cared for his family and friends but showed no mercy at the card table or the chessboard, where his skills will always be legendary. While Duane is loved beyond words by his family, we have always shared him with the community. He gave of himself, and often became a leader, to the First United Methodist Church of Normal, United Methodist Men, Bloomington Kiwanis and Golden K Clubs, Friends of the Fold, Cunningham Children’s Home, Boy Scout Troop 19, McLean-DeWitt Regional Vocational System, Community Cancer Center fundraising, Illinois Shakespeare Society, McLean County Historical Society, the Twin City Amateur Astronomers, the neighborhood he has called home for four decades, and many more. Friends connected with Duane through many of these organizations. In lieu of flowers, please consider gifts to First United Methodist Church of Normal, University of IL Foundation for the Civil Engineering Department, The Baby Fold, Cunningham Children’s Home, Habitat for Humanity of McLean County, McLean County Museum of History, IL Symphony Orchestra, University of IL Foundation for Friends of WILL, or Illinois State University for WGLT. To celebrate Duane’s life, a visitation will be held from 4:00 - 7:00 pm, Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at Calvert & Metzler Memorial Home in Bloomington. Funeral service will be held at 11:00 am, Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at First United Methodist Church, in Normal. Inurnment will be at Blooming Grove Cemetery. Calvert-Metzler Memorial Home is handling the arrangements.