It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of William Sandy Dukes from Gilroy, CA. Sandy lived most of his life in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was born on September 22, 1948 in Palo Alto, CA, to Mary Etta Ferguson & William Grover Dukes. He passed on February 1, 2023 with his loved ones around him, sharing stories of their favorite memories with him.

Sandy's life started painfully at a young age when his birth mother, Mary Etta, passed when he was 13 years old. His father, Bill, eventually married Muriel who Sandy loved like a mom. He is preceded in death by his father, William (Bill) Grover Dukes and his stepmother, Muriel Ellen Dukes. He is survived by his 3 children: Jeffrey (NE), Journee (OR) & Sean (NY).

Sandy graduated from the College of San Mateo, where he specialized in TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas welding). The seed was planted as a young boy in 6th grade when he saw a welder working on a cracked furnace at Sobey Lane School. Sandy saw the blue flame from the torch and was mesmerized. That memory would lend itself to over 30 years as a machinist for Krobach, where he did mill work for medical equipment & military parts.

Sandy also served his country with 18 months of active duty in the Navy as a Cryptologic Technician (CT) stationed in Hawaii. He did teletyping during the Vietnam War and (in his own words), simplified his tasks as: "getting juicy info from Guam & South Pacific and would pass it on to the NSA, CIA & DOD". He was very proud to meet Admiral Zumwalt face to face (who was head of the Navy at the time). Sandy married his 1st wife, Dianne and lived together in Hawaii while he was on duty. Their big date was always going down to the corner store on weekends to get a 15 cent ice cream. All he had was a motorcycle for transportation. His 2nd wife, Katharina (Kate) was introduced to him by his stepmother when Muriel was a patient in the hospital. Kate was her nurse.

Sandy was crass, funny & loved to have a good time! He was also incredibly generous, humble & kind. He enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson, especially participating in The Redwood Run (the wildest Old School Biker Party on the West Coast). He loved his guns and going to the shooting range. But he especially loved hanging out with his best buddy, Reuben Seehafer. He had many artistic talents; photography, drawing and designing with metal & wood, being just a few. He was often one of the top coveted gift makers for an annual 'Christmas gift-making exchange' with his loved ones.

His greatest joy was to be surrounded by fun & laughter (and solving level 5 Sudoku puzzles). All he wanted in life was to be accepted and loved by his friends & family...and in return, he was known to give the proverbial Harley shirt off of his own back. He was precious to all who knew him late in life, especially as we watched him grow into his own Faith. In the end, he was comfortable knowing he would be going home to the God that loved him so very much. Which leads us to say goodbye with his favorite saying that always filled our hearts when he would end a conversation with, "I love you MORE".

...no Sandman, we will always love YOU more! ❤️

There will be an intimate memorial ash ceremony celebrating his life on Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 1:00 pm with a lunch reception to follow in Gilroy, CA.