August 20, 1947 – November 4, 2024
There will be a memorial gathering for longtime former Carbondale resident Jerry Duckowitz at the Mt. Sopris trailhead at 1pm on Saturday, Aug. 9, followed by a reception at the Village Smithy at 5pm.
Known to his many friends in Carbondale as “Duck,” Jerry died on Nov. 4, 2024, at his home in Orlando, Florida, with his wife, Kathy, at his side. He was 77.
Jerry was born in New York City on Aug. 20, 1947 to Saul and Blanche Duckowitz.
He served in Vietnam in the 1960s, and moved to Carbondale in 1977. He married Gayla Tippett and they had one son, Jason.
Jerry is the namesake for a menu item at the Village Smithy restaurant in Carbondale, “Jerry D’s French Toast.” He was a cook at the Smithy and managed the Smithy II in Glenwood Springs from 1983 to 1986. He later worked for Destination Resorts in Snowmass Village.
The family relocated to Isle of Palms, South Carolina in the early 1990s, where Jerry continued to work for Destination Resorts. After a divorce, he returned to Carbondale for a few years in the mid-1990s, where he co-owned a restaurant in the Dinkel Building.
Jerry then relocated to Florida to help care for his father after his mother had passed away. There, he married Kathy Banach. They had been married 28 years, residing in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and Orlando.
He was preceded in death by his parents, ex-wife Gayla, and stepson Craig.
He is survived by his wife, Kathy; son, Jason Duckowitz of Langley, Washington, and two grandchildren, Holden and Ellis; four stepchildren, Christina Montes de Oca, Matthew Starr and Kate Hillert; and six step-grandchildren.