Inez Marie Duke

Inez passed away peacefully on October 10, 2010 in Denver. She was born February 18, 1918 in Pueblo, Colorado to her beloved parents Serafino and Mary Nigro who were born in Italy. Except for a few years in Salt Lake City and Des Moines, she resided continuously in Denver since 1944. She was preceded in death by her husband Richard H. Duke whom she married in 1953. Inez was a devoted daughter and wife who lovingly took care of her father, mother and husband during their extended illnesses. Caring for others without regard to her own needs was what truly distinguished her. In the '30's and '40's Inez and her father worked for the Italian Consulate in Denver, and for a brief period of time owned a liquor store. Inez was also a real-estate broker and began her career in 1950 with Riebling Realty. She started Watson Realty and Watson Duke Development in 1957 and was the owner and general manager until 1987 when she retired to take care of her husband Dick and grandson Andrew. Her office was decorated with antique furniture and was a gathering place for many people in the Denver real estate community. She was involved with the development of several communities in the Denver area including Bear Valley and Chenango, the former of which she first subdivided in 1961 on farmland at S. Sheridan Blvd. and W. Dartmouth Ave. that was homesteaded in 1900 by her mother-in-law Cressie Duke. She built and sold houses throughout Denver. Inez was a fabulous cook preparing all of her own pasta, cookies, cakes and pies. She rolled pasta by hand and prepared spaghetti using a 150 year old ""chitarra"" that was brought to the United States by her grandparents in 1905. Her Christmas cookies (shortbread, snowballs, and lace), cakes (chocolate and straw- berry shortcake), pies (cherry and cheesecake) and lasagna bolognese are irreplaceable. Surviving Inez are her sons Dr. Fred Pettid of Omaha, Dr. Richard (Debra) Duke of Denver, her grand- children: Andrew (Kelley Bergelt) Duke of Denver; Debbie (Pete) Cowdin and Nancy (Pat) Flynn of Kansas City; Fred (Andrea) Pettid of Iowa; Julie (John) McNeil, Mike (Cathy) Pettid, Cathy (Teri) Cassel, and Jim (Sharon) Pettid of Omaha; and Charlie (Melissa) Pettid of New Jersey, her great grandchildren: Sally, Clyde, Gloria, Violet, Blue, Charlie, Damian, Jordan, Stevie, Alexis, Jae, Katie, Casey, Lauren, Logan, Rachel, Nathan, Carter, Fletcher and Jackson, and nieces and nephews: Laura, Mary Anne, Eleanor, Walter and Vernon. She was a beautiful person who will be sadly missed by all of those whose lives she touched. A Memorial Service will be held at 1:00 PM, Monday, October 18th, at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel at 1091 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver, with interment at Ft. Logan National Cemetery to follow at 2:30 PM. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to the Inez M. Duke Heritage Club Mountain View Retirement Community Employee Scholarship Fund, 8101 E. Mississippi Ave., Denver, CO 80247. Please share your memories of Inez by signing our guestbook, clicking on the link below.