Jan Wheeler Duncan

Jan Wheeler Duncan of Green Bay passed away in the company of his wife, Stephanie Duncan, on the morning of September 24, 2019. He was born on August 8, 1937 in Atlanta, Georgia to Helen (Bigelow Gale) and Bob (Robert Campbell) Duncan. The family moved to Mamaroneck, New York in 1940, where Jan grew up and graduated from Mamaroneck High in 1955. He then graduated from Yale College in 1959 with a BS in Industrial Administration.
He married Stephanie Gomes on September 12, 1959 in East Williston (Long Island), New York.
Jan especially enjoyed family vacations at the beach in Wainscott (Long Island), New York and Sarasota, Florida, as well as many ski vacations in Colorado, Utah, California, and Canada (often shared with friends).
Jan joined Procter & Gamble in 1959 at Staten Island, New York in the Soap Division Engineering Group (Project Manager), then moved to Operations Management in 1961; the balance of his P&G career was spent in the Soap and Paper Divisions at plants in Baltimore (1963-1965), Cincinnati (1965-1968), and Green Bay (1968-1981). His 22-year P&G career included a very successful new ($7.7 million) converting operation project in Green Bay in 1977. In 1981, Jan joined Belmark, Inc. in De Pere as partner and Operations VP. He retired in 1994.
Jan was also an accomplished skier and ski instructor, achieving Full Certification from the US Professional Ski Instructor Association (PSIA) in 1969. He served as Technical VP for Central PSIA in the 1970’s, as well as a Certification Examiner. He served on PSIA’s National Technical Committee and was part of its effort to modernize skiing technique and certification approach. He skied at 57 ski areas in the US and Canada during this period.
Jan always loved the game of golf. He belonged to the Fox Valley Golf Club and the Green Bay Country Club from 1995 to the present. He served on GBCC’s Board of Directors for 12 years and was its President in 1997-1998. Upon retirement from Belmark in 1994, he became part of the Wisconsin State Golf Association’s course rating team and had the opportunity to measure and rate over 200 courses in Wisconsin.
Jan generously gave his time to many organizations in the community, including the Green Bay YMCA (where he was on the Board of Directors for 9 years and served as its Secretary), the Allouez Anchors Soccer Club (Board of Directors for 6 years; President), the Encompass Child Care Endowment Committee (4 years), the Heritage Hill State Park Foundation Board (12 years; President 2003-2004; Treasurer 2007-2013), and the Advance Business and Manufacturing Center Incubator Project (where he was part of a team of Green Bay business leaders and educators who identified and secured the original site for the Center). He was awarded a 20-year service award from the Wisconsin State Golf Association. In 2013, Heritage Hill State Park honored Jan with its History Keeper Award.
In his later years, Jan particularly enjoyed time at the card table with friends and relished depriving them of their cash.
Jan is survived by his wife, Stephanie; his sons and their spouses, Eric Duncan (Gail Wilke) of Sheboygan, WI and Christopher Duncan (Donna Graves) of Berkeley, CA; his grandchildren, Alice Duncan-Graves (Berkeley, CA), Abigail Duncan (La Crosse, WI), Breck Duncan (Madison, WI), and Malcolm Duncan-Graves (Berkeley, CA); his sister and brother-in-law, Meg and Byron Eberhart of Rome, Georgia, and their children and grandchildren, Trip and Lori Eberhart (Megan, Benjamin, and Tori) of Atlanta, Georgia and Gale and Brad Jones (Addison and Parker) of Knoxville, Tennessee; and his devoted cat, April, who has been sulking more or less continuously since he moved to assisted living this past summer.
In lieu of flowers or donations, please enjoy a round of golf, spend a day skiing, or visit a favorite place with your family.
A celebration of Jan’s life will be held on Saturday, October 5, at the Green Bay Country Club, 2400 Klondike Road, Green Bay, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. All are welcome. Cotter Funeral Home and Cremation Care is assisting the family.