In Memory

Craig Lawrence Ducey - Class Of 1969

Craig Lawrence Ducey

Jul 20, 1951 - Jul 25, 2022


 



 
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07/28/22 01:44 PM #1    

Hans Ransom (1969)

Sad news, my condolences to his family. 

 


07/28/22 02:55 PM #2    

Dennis Allen Ackerman (1969)

I am so sad to hear that Craig has passed...I know he had been ill lately living in Arizona....I last saw him at our  50th Reunion in Sept 2019! I got to spend some time with him on Saturday night and Sunday morning for breakfast before we all left...

I grew up with Craig. First met him when we played against each other in youth basketball @ Memorial Park, but then played on the same Little  league team the in 1963.. went undefeated that year.. had the pool party at our house on Maryhurst Drive.. became close friends during Jr High and High School.. our families new each other.. Me, my sister and little brother all took swim lessons @ the Ducey swim school  at CMC..

I know Craig had some rough times after his Dad (Ted ) passed away the mid 70's and for many years he struggled and battled to keep going.. I got to see him at many reunions over the years.. he always came up to me and we had some great talks about family...The one I especially remember is prior to big event of our 40th reunion Sept of 09.. There was a knock our door at Maryhurst early in the afternoon (I was there visiting my Dad .. getting ready for the dinner that night)  It was Craig , by himself riding a bike... and he came to see my Dad.. He stayed for almost 3 hours talking to my  Dad and my self ...About family,his and mine.. growing up in Claremont. and how great it  was to  know each other...I convinced him to come to the reunion that night and he did!..I know he had good time..... finally at our last reunion in 2019 on that Sunday morning sitting at the park bench prior to everyone arriving for breakfast with Craig Ducey and Brent Malan..talking old times..I will never forget it! Rest In Peace Craig..It was an honor to be your friend...Dennis (Barney) Ackerman

 


07/28/22 05:48 PM #3    

Ann Tozier (1969)

So sorry to hear about Craig.  I don't have any stories to tell, as I was a bit of a loner, but I always thought of him as handsome, athletic and a really nice guy.


07/28/22 10:30 PM #4    

William Monroe Cheney (1969)

 Whew... well this is very sad news.  I have plenty I could say about Craig...but, for now I'll just say this:  I felt a lot of the "Kool Kids" of CHS gave me a tough time.  I was kinda dorky... but still I was decent at sports and had some good high-school friends.  Craig, of course, was sort of the creme de la creme of CHS.  Nice looking guy, GREAT athelete, super-well liked etc.  Craig ALWAYS was postive toward me.  He'd choose me to be on his team all the time (I don't mean last choice... but 2nd or 3rd)... he'd give me a lot of "atta-boys" when playing one sport or the other.  Craig just took the time to personally give me positive accolades and inspiration.  I know, at a time like this, one may hear all these GREAT PRAISES for the deceased.  I just want to make it ABSOLUTELY CLEAR.... this is not some bullshit babble for a lost one.  Craig gave me the confidence that propelled me into what little success I have enjoyed.  Just some nerdy kid in high school that Craig took the time to... to... to... well, to pay attention to. 

A few years after high school I was at a party "Ducey" had at his house.  Things had changed... I was a rock musician... livin' the life... hair to my waist etc. etc. blah and blah.  I remember going to that party with Randy Levinson..Randy's van packed with several of our new found "friends."    I feel SO SO LUCKY ... that on that night I had the maturity (you who know me... know that is a trait I sorely lack) to tell Craig how much it meant to me for the "kool of the school" to be so positive and kind to me for all those years.  I sarcastically asked him if it was ok to make fun of some of his friends.... he laughed put his arm around me and said... "feel free."  God I LOVED that moment!  It felt so good to thank him.

I certainly did not know him as well or as personally as many others at CHS.  The years went on I heard some disturbing things ... I saw Craig at a couple of the reunions. Whatever happened later in Craig's life... whatever he did or didn't do... I will ALWAYS always consider him a "leader of men."  That may sound funny to some of you... but I have often thought about the "confidence" he exhibited toward me.  Rest in peace my friend... you helped me more than you ever knew.


07/29/22 09:20 AM #5    

David Frederick Beck (1969)

Adding to Bill Cheney' and Dennis Ackerman comments, from elementary school forward, the sports teams that Craig competed on almost always won. People remember him as a great athlete, but his real athletic gift was being able to get the players around him to perform at a higher level by encouraging them and giving them a chance.  He was his dad's son and a coach on the field in every sport, even the ones where he was not the best player.  He led his teams, and our class at every level by truly believing in his teammates.. 

 

More personally, at various stages of life Craig and I were pretty close friends, so I may have a better idea on his mindset on things.  He almost never talked about anything he had accomplished in sports or life. He would always jump to, "remember how Barney could do that Dick Barnett thing and hit that fallaway from the corner!", or "Bill Cheney, great tennis player, and what a musician!", or Dave Beck, "how do you do that with numbers". . He not only led our class, he was truly impressed by all of us.  If you have warm or fond memories of Craig, please know that he had them of you as well.

 


07/29/22 02:42 PM #6    

Christine Pedroni (1970)

Dearest Craig my friend and a friend to anyone whoever met him. As we chatted a few weeks ago,my was mind was flooded with many many memories. Some of which can be shared, some which cannot. 

You were a shining example of your wonderful parents who raised you and your siblings to be... kind,thoughtful,nurturing,giving, strong,and a true leader coupled with humbleness. We all loved you for your sense of humor, your quick wit, your loyalty and tenacity I loved you because as your friend, Brent Malan loved you. The world love you because you were quite simply...You. You will be missed. Love Christine Pedroni

Here we all are with our "babies", Brent And Jared Malan and me. Darcy and Jeff Allen Young and theirs, You, your daughter ,Cara Ducey and  Christina  A'Hearn circa 1981


07/30/22 08:27 AM #7    

Jon Michael Kaufman (1969)

I have been a faithful Craig Ducey (Duce) fan since our Jr. High days at El Roble Jr. High back in the mid 1960's.  We became good friends as a direct result of his incredible athletic talent and my knowledge and love of sports, definitely not because of my ability.  I marveled at Duce's athletic gifts.  He was the Magic Johnson of our athletic programs throughout our Jr. Hiigh and Claremont High School years.  I was in attendance at all of his varsity football and basketball games during that time.   It was like brotherly hero worship.  Duce established an unparalleled legacy as the most successful, athletically gifted, most charismatic, well-loved athlete to ever come out of Claremont High School. I will always feel honored by Duce's going away gift to me back in 1972, before I moved my life to San Luis Obispo, California.  He had an extra ticket for the 1972 NCAA Championship Basketball game at the LA Sports Arena to see our beloved UCLA Bruins (highlighted by Bill Walton and Henry Bibby) and Florida St.   I was honored that Duce had graciously chosen me to join him in attendance.  Little did we know at the time but out of John Wooden's 10 National Championships in which he never lost a Championship game, this turned out to be Wooden's narrowest margin of victory ever.  The Bruins beat the Seminoles 81-76 and that is the closest any team ever came to beating one of Wooden's teams in an NCAA Championship game.  

Craig Ducey will always have a special place in my heart...   Anyone that knew him, loved and respected him, and will always speak fondly of his role-model attributes.  Not only was Duce athletically gifted but he also possessed that rare ability to make everyone else around him better.  Rest in peace, Duce, you will always be remembered as someone who clearly made this world a much better place...

Your eternal Bro,   Coach Jon Kaufman


08/07/22 05:09 PM #8    

Rolland Withrow (1969)

From early 1980s

A happy day for all.


10/16/22 12:12 PM #9    

Rolland Withrow (1969)

Nearly four years ago I completed writing a manuscript of about 1750 pages.  The time period about which I wrote was primarily June 1969-December 1976. But, there were some stories from before and after also included.  Following the first chapter that just addressed the question, ‘why now?’ the next one I wrote was titled “Kirk and Spock.”  The chapter is over 35 pages long, too much for posting here.  I’d like to contribute a few excerpts, though, to go alongside of those already submitted.  I may add a context-clarifying comment here and there.

“While Shatner and Nimoy played out their Kirk/Spock thing on evening television from 1966-1969, Ducey and I were dancing very much of that same dance in our lives.  Even then, we noticed and others commented.  There is no revisionist history.  Duce got the girls and I got us out of trouble.  The relationship was far deeper than that, but there was that element to it that kept us smiling over our box full of 6 In-N-Out cheeseburgers whenever the food fancy struck us.  Oh, but there’s more.  Ducey looked not at all unlike William Shatner/Captain Kirk and I bore more than a passing resemblance to Leonard Nimoy/Mr. Spock.”

1964-1965  8th Grade

“El Roble Junior High School did not have a school-sponsored team.  However, there was a short-lived barbecue restaurant, Little Pigs, located in the Alpha Beta shopping center on the NW corner of Foothill Blvd (Route 66!) and Mountain Ave.  And there was an impresario of sorts stalking the halls of El Roble impersonating a PE teacher, Harry T Lund.  How Harry T and the owners of Little Pigs got together I’m thinking that no one now living quite knows.  But, a basketball team sponsored by Little Pigs was formed and once again I was the last guy picked.  I chuckle now at the virtue of consistency."

“Craig, Gregg Brown (RIP) and Bryan Graves were the studs on that team while Mark Ervin and Jon Kaufman (aka ‘Pot’) were the speed merchants.  Craig led the team in scoring that season at a whopping 8.5 points per game (the team averaged scoring 40 per game).  I’m not sure we ever spoke.  I know he did not sign my yearbook.”

“Something had happened, though.  I took note of Ducey and the confident poise and grace with which he was already playing the game of basketball.  No doubt having been the recipient of much valuable hoops education from his father, Ted, Craig produced beautiful to watch results on the court.  He became my role model, so far as playing basketball went.”

 

Summer 1966

“Claremont Men’s College, the school where Craig’s dad was the very well respected and much-loved head basketball coach, had two players at the time that I learned a great deal from, mostly by watching, but some by getting to play with them.  Craig had started to take serious notice of my growing passion for and dedication to this game that he also loved.  He would invite me to go with him to the CMC gym, sometimes just to watch and sometimes to play with his dad’s players.  What an education!  Craig drove me hard and held his own with these college players (perhaps toning down their efforts just slightly because he was the coach’s son, after all). That summer really was the beginning of our friendship.  We were not in the same social circles, but we’d discovered each other’s common love and bonded in it.”

Sophomore Year  1966-1967

"So, while the season itself separated Craig and I*, the game continued to draw us together and bit by bit we began to spend time together in non-basketball contexts.  He was not my ‘best friend’ during my sophomore year, but we were becoming closer.  And, this is when we began to speak openly of this dream we had. That when we were Seniors we would be part of the first basketball team in our school’s history to win the league championship and maybe even the first team to go undefeated!  We were 15 years old then, so why not dream big.  At the end of the school year he wrote in my annual, ‘Roll, well, Roll, it’s another year down the drain.  This summer and next year we better win.  You just keep putin’ ‘em in from the outside.  Craig.’  No one could ever accuse Duce of being a sentimentalist.  But, he was born to be the Captain and I was looking forward to becoming his First Officer.”  *Craig played on the Varsity and I played on the JVs.

“Craig and I continued to develop and deepen our friendship on and off the court.  The truth is (and was), however, that had we not had this shared passion for basketball, our differences would have never fostered a friendship between us.  As things were, our differences often forced us to practice patience and tolerance with the other.  This is fine in small doses and all friendships have some degree of such practice.  With us, though, these demands came quite regularly.  Love covers a multitude of sins,[1] however, and our mutual love for the game carried us through our frequent disagreements about other aspects of life.”

I’ll conclude with this longer excerpt from March-July 1968

“I’d put a lot of distance between myself as a high school junior and the 7th grader who was intimidated by Jimmy Lieb’s sweat.  But, that appeared to be a moot point because I had no intention whatsoever of playing at Claremont the next season.  My dad even asked me if I wanted to see if he could get me a transfer to another school, Bonita High School in neighboring La Verne, perhaps.  Duce didn’t say much at first, just giving me room to feel what I felt, I think.

Quitter.  How does one react to the fight or flight syndrome?  Well, you’ve just learned what my initial response to the unpleasantness with Coach Smith looked like.  I said, in effect, ‘f- you, Coach.’  I really wish I could remember what so irritated me that I was willing to abandon the three years of hard work I’d put into getting better at this game that had so taken hold of me.  I can’t.  Anger and hurt are all I recall.  I started to drink more frequently and with greater abandon, even coming to school majorly under the influence on a couple of occasions.  Not normally a sullen person, I did and said things that alienated me for a time from nearly all of my friends.  But, not Craig.  Whatever the trouble had been, he’d seen and understood it and I think he tacitly accepted my ‘right’ to grieve in my own way.  My moodiness became just one more aspect of me that he tolerated.  Why did he do that?  I think there were two reasons.  First, I think that he had grown to care about me and to value what I brought to his life apart from or beyond our basketball lives.  But, I also think that he believed that if I did not play our senior season that the dream we held individually and shared together could never come true.  Not even with the addition of Charley and Terryl.  I think he believed that for our dream to come true, I needed to play…and play even better than I had been.

As the school year came to an end and the summer of 1968 was approaching, Craig took off the kid gloves and started to get in my face every single day.  He didn’t talk about next season, though.  He only talked about the summer.  In retrospect, I see great wisdom in this tack.  Rather than guilt me about next season and the shattered dream, he kept talking about playing summer league ball.  And, what made this so clever on his part?  Coach Smith could not have anything to do with the summer league games or practices.  None of the coaches could.  Players needed to organize themselves.  The day we were signing annuals he wrote in mine, ‘My buddy, Roll.  I have quit!  It’s been neet-o this year just you & me!  Have fun this summer you 6’6½” creep.  Love & Kisses, Craigie Poo

Spock was taking his basketball and going back to Vulcan.  He’d had it with Star Fleet! And Captain Kirk was giving him a dig (I have quit!) on his way out the door.  That was so Ducey.  I’ve included this picture of him from that time long ago in that galaxy far, far away.2     I don’t think he’d mind, even if I did mix up a few metaphors along the way.

About the time the semester ended, Ducey called me and asked me to pick him up at his house.  Not doing anything of importance that afternoon, I consented and arrived at his house near the center of town a few minutes later.  He came down the front steps, opened the Nova’s passenger side door and dropped down into the bucket seat.  “Let’s drive someplace and talk,” his tone bordering somewhere between commanding and supplicating.  I just said, “Alright,” and pulled away from the curb on my way to a conversation that I could easily anticipate.  Spock is half human, right?  And I, like him, have my intuitive side.  I did not know where the Nova was going, but I knew very well where the conversation we were going to have would end up.

After giving me three months to stew in my own juice, figuratively and literally (as I turned to the Budweiser more often than what had become ‘normal’ for me at that time) Craig felt the time had come to confront me with what essentially became Spock’s own reasoning in his death scene in The Wrath of Khan.[3]  Quoting Spock from that most excellent of Trek movies, “Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”  Captain Kirk responds, sadly and lovingly, “Or the one.”  Craig did not put it into exactly those words, but through a combination of guilting, praising and encouraging me he got me to commit to playing summer league ball and seeing where things went from there.

Why are there tears here?  Are they the sign that the soul is still searching for answers it yet lacks on its journey home?  A cautionary warning that one’s inner self is treading on sacred ground?  I don’t know for sure.  But, I do remember that my renewal came a few games into that summer league season when Terryl made a pass to me that no one else on the court saw coming.  The pass led to a basket that put 2 points on the scoreboard in that game, but something much bigger happened.  My insides felt like a sun was being born, warming with that most incredible of human emotions, joy!  I think that moment made me become a believer in my (and Craig’s) own dream.  We really could be a very good team, a special team, maybe even the best basketball team Claremont had ever seen.  The opportunity to be a part of something pure and excellent inspired me to let go of the hostility toward Coach Smith and rededicate myself to making the improvements that were still necessary for me to contribute all that I could to making our dream come true.

I almost started crying when I ran by TD and gave him 5 as I was coming down the court after laying the ball in, but I sucked it up and kept my big boy trunks on.  Across the court, I could see 25 smiling broadly.  He knew what had just happened.  God bless him…he knew.”

Now I'll do my Columbo thing here...

June 1969

"The final exchange between us that I want to recall and with which I’ll bring this chapter to a close came about shortly before graduation.  We’d received our yearbooks and everyone was trying to wrap up a stage of life and summarize relationships that were either transitory and superficial or enduring and very meaningful in a few words scrawled into another’s yearbook.  Craig and I did not know it at the time, but we would have occasion to be teammates once again (along with TD) when we played in a Pomona City League together for a couple of months, I think during the winter of 1974 timeframe.  But, for now, we were bringing to a close this chapter of our lives during which we had lived the words of Provers 27:17:

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

One of the things Craig and I had talked about on a few occasions was my status as his ‘best friend.’  I had an almost girlish need to be, not just to feel like, but to actually be Craig’s best friend.  These tears again… I cannot help but recall Spock’s dying words to (now) Admiral Kirk, “I have been – and always shall be – your friend.”[1]  I could not then and cannot now, a half century removed from those years, separate my love for basketball from my love for Craig.  For years afterward, I marveled at the double entendre in his words.  Taking his final comment in light of our friendship rather than in light of our relative basketball gifts has always been my preferred and more treasured interpretation.  This is what he wrote in my yearbook.

The tears in my eyes that still don’t easily dry are testimony that I’ve not yet been able to answer the question why love left behind aches so interminably."  RIP my friend

 

[1] Star Trek II  The Wrath of Khan  1982 Paramount Studios

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

[1] 1Peter 4:8

[2] Star Wars 1977 created by George Lucas

[3] Star Trek II  The Wrath of Khan  1982 Paramount Studios


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