Duane Allen Kaitfors

Duane Allen Kaitfors, 76, of Ft. Myers, FL, died Wednesday, May 28, 2025, of medical complications in the intensive care unit in a hospital near his home.
Duane was born October 6, 1948, (along with his twin sister Doreen Avis), the son of Nannie (Anderson) of Scranton, ND, and Lawrence Kaitfors, Ralph, SD, in Hettinger, ND. His parents farmed/ranched northwest of Ralph, SD, along with two of Lawrence’s brothers Neale and Raymond. Duane and Doreen joined two older sisters, Linda (1944) and Laurel (1946). They were followed by Gail (1953) and Stan (1954), a cousin who lived with them from an early age and was considered from then on to be their younger brother.
An “accidental” note - On the way to the hospital Lawrence hit a pheasant which went right through the front window of the car and landed in the seat between Lawrence and Nan. Crazy as it may sound, after Lawrence got Nan into the hospital, he took the dead pheasant to the City Café where they cleaned and fried it for him to eat for supper!
The Kaitfors clan loved music, and the radio was always on (this was before TV, cell phones, etc). Duane memorized the words to song-after-song and this continued throughout his life. He sang as he drove all over California. Nan and Lawrence also taught their children to dance in their living room and they learned the two-step, waltz, polka, etc. In the earlier days, there were community dances practically every other week in Harding County during the summertime and families were always there “cutting a rug”. The family also attended Ralph Lutheran Church every Sunday, unless a major blizzard, etc, and Duane continued his faith journey.
Duane and his siblings attended a one-room country school at Norbeck and then Scranton High School. Duane excelled at sports and was a member of the football and basketball teams and also ran track. In later years he also liked to go to the driving range and hit a “few” (sometimes 400) golf balls!
After graduation he spent 4 years and a summer session at Black Hills State College, Spearfish, SD, where he completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Education with an emphasis on physical education and communication. During his sophomore year he met his wife Cynthia “Cynde” Collins of Rapid City, SD. They both were members of the cast in the musical “Oklahoma”. They were married in June of 1968.
Immediately after graduation from Black Hills State in 1970, they moved to Ewing, NE, (a small town about the size of Scranton) where Duane began his first year of teaching and coaching high school and junior high P.E., along with speech and other classes. In his spare time, he was the head boys’ football coach, junior high basketball coach, track coach, and also directed the senior and junior class plays. Their son Jeremy was born in 1970 and their son Joshua in 1973.
Immediately after the end of the school year in the spring of 1971, Duane retired from teaching and coaching. That fall they moved to Boulder, CO, where Duane began a career as a “new construction” painter and worked himself up to “journeyman” painter. In the fall of 1974, the family moved to Grand Island, NE, where Duane formed a partnership with a friend and began their own painting company. Life was good, but too much spray painting, lacquering, etc. was getting the best of his health so once again he made a career change.
In August of 1975 the family moved to Fresno, CA, (following his in-laws who had moved there the year before). Duane began an insurance and financial apprenticeship with the “California Farmers Insurance Company”. It all worked well and for the next 14 years he covered the Central San Joaquin Valley counties, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo regions, working with farmers and ranchers. Duane was voted “District Manager of the Year’ and had 10 agents working for him.
In 1992 he left California Farmers Insurance Co. and began his own independent insurance firm, “Kaitfors Insurance Company”. In recent years he expanded his business to many different states and currently was a full-time resident of Ft. Myers, FL.
Duane and his wife Cynde divorced in 2004. She remarried and still resides in California. Their son Jeremy is married to Shannon and they live in Kingsburg, CA. Jeremy has two daughters, Kaleigh and Kaitlyn. Joshua lives in Fresno, CA with his wife Tara. He has one daughter, Jayden. Duane said, “I am a very proud grandpa”!!!
In October 2010 Duane had open heart surgery in Fresno to replace an aortic valve. Doreen flew out and stayed with Duane for 3 weeks to help during his recovery. He and his sons were able to go to Buffalo, SD, for the funeral of his dad, Lawrence, in December.
Over the years, Duane made numerous trips back “home” to South Dakota, where he loved to visit his parents, family and friends. He enjoyed helping with projects on the ranch, attended local and family gatherings, and Sunday church services at Ralph Lutheran or Grand River Lutheran in Buffalo where he always visited with everyone. Later, when his parents moved to Buffalo, he flew to Denver many times, where Doreen lived. She’d pick him up at the airport with the car packed and ready to go and he’d jump into the car and they would drive to Buffalo, where they’d spend a week or two with family. His sister Linda said, “We were always happy to “hang out” with Duane when he came and “sad” to see him leave when he went back to California or Florida”.
Duane also suffered some devastating injuries from a car accident, resulting in major health issues. In March 2012, while driving through an intersection, his car was hit by an SUV traveling at a high rate of speed. Duane was flown by helicopter to the Community Regional Medical Center Trauma Unit. He suffered a broken leg, fractured ribs, punctured lung, and heart damage, followed by hospitalization, operations and a long recovery time at home.
On Halloween of 2016, his car was hit in an intersection in Florida by a male driver in a pickup who had tried to run a red light. Duane was transported by ambulance to the hospital with very high blood pressure and a damaged shoulder. He later had two more hospitalizations for heart surgeries.
Duane is survived by his two sons, Jeremy and Joshua and their families; sisters – Linda (Wally) Stephens, Buffalo, SD, Laurel (Steve) Merkwan, Gayville, SD, Doreen (Don) Hazledine, Belle Fourche, SD, Gail (Rick) Tysdal, Spearfish, SD; 1 brother – Stan (Therese Scherrer) Kaitfors, Santa Rosa, CA; several nieces, nephews, cousins; and friends and clients who stated Duane was the most helpful, kind, and nicest man they’d ever met!
He was preceded in death by his parents, Nan and Lawrence Kaitfors, his in-laws, Sam and Jean Collins, and several aunts, uncles and cousins.
According to his wishes, Duane will be cremated, and a family service and burial will be held at a later date at the Ralph Lutheran Church and Cemetery.