Charles Duane McKee

Charles Duane McKee passed away peacefully in Macomb on May 21, 2025. He will be missed and remembered by his family and friends.

Duane was born in Macomb on Sep 16, 1938 to Charles and Louise (Greenup) McKee, the youngest of three children. He grew up on a farm near Augusta, Illinois and graduated from Augusta Senior High School in 1956. That same year, he married Mary Aleshire of Plymouth, Illinois, who passed away in 2024.

Duane was hard working and busy throughout his life until his retirement some years ago. He worked at various times in retail sales, grocery, factory labor and management and ended his career in the janitorial service at Western Illinois University in Macomb. He farmed part-time on land located near Augusta through most of those years and also had small businesses running a bulldozer and dealing in scrap metal.

Duane always had time to talk and made friends easily wherever he went. He loved farming and the land and the outdoors in general. He loved to travel and had several adventures with family members in recent years on cruises and tours of Alaska and Canada, including a zipline ride over a Canadian canyon.

Duane was compassionate to a large degree. He did a lot of parenting to several young grandchildren when they needed it after the tragic loss of their father and had a large share in caring for Mary in her long illness.

Duane survived his parents, his wife Mary and his two sisters Geraldine Croxton and Eleanor Mulhatten. He is survived by his children; Mary Katherine Olson (Steve) of Sycamore Illinois; Rhonda Leatherwood-Huston of Huntsville, Illinois and Joe McKee (Rebecca) of Holt, Michigan and by six grandchildren; Molly Olson of Sycamore, Illinois; Kylie Bond of Jackson, Mississippi; Jon Leatherwood of Pekin, Illinois; Janelle Leatherwood of Chicago, Illinois; Caitlin McKee of Lansing, Michigan; Thomas McKee of Lansing, Michigan; and two great-grandchildren.

Duane was very grateful for the long stretches of in-person care his daughter Rhonda Leatherwood-Huston gave to him and his wife Mary. He was also grateful for all the care and help his family and friends gave him in recent years. The family would like to thank McDonough District Hospital, Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Macomb Post Acute Care and MDH Hospice for their excellent care.

No plans have been made for a memorial service for Duane at this time. Arrangements are being handled by Hamilton Funeral Home of Augusta.