Duane Wallert, age 87, of Canby, MN passed away on Saturday, November 15, 2025 at the Clarkfield Care Center in Clarkfield, MN. Funeral service will be held at 11am on Friday, November 21st at the First Presbyterian Church in Canby, MN. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7pm on Thursday, November 20th at the Houseman Funeral Home-Birk Chapel in Canby. Visitation will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be at the Canby City Cemetery. Houseman Funeral Home-Birk Chapel of Canby, MN has been entrusted with the arrangements.
Duane Glenn Wallert was born on December 23, 1937 to Ernest Carl Wallert and Olga Ida (Wentzlaff) Wallert in Arlington, Minnesota. His family moved a number of times, living in Gibbon, Redwood Falls, Ivanhoe, and finally settling on a farm near Canby. Duane graduated from Redwood Falls High School in 1955. He met his wife Charleen in Canby and they were married June 21, 1959 at First Presbyterian Church in Canby, Minnesota, where they were members until his death. In 1963, they welcomed their only child, Angela. Duane started out his career of truck driving at the age of 15, driving with his dad and then eventually owning his own pair of semis. He worked out of the Hormel buying station in Canby for many years, going to farms to pick up pigs, loading them in the semis, then driving in the evenings to packing plants in Austin, Minnesota or Fremont, Nebraska. Over the years he also drove gas truck, hot oil truck, rafter truck, and helped by driving tractor for a few local farmers. After retiring from truck driving, he enjoyed driving school bus and had many stories to tell of all the kids he got to interact with every day. Duane’s pride and joy was caring for his yard, where he had fruit trees and grew a large vegetable garden each year. He loved canning and freezing what he grew, but also made many bottles of wine, which he would serve to family and friends brave enough to try it. It seems no matter where you went in Canby, everyone knew “Dewey” and had received one of the peppermints he carried with him. He was always up for bantering with the people he interacted with and teased the ones he liked the best. When friends and family would leave a visit, they would always hear, “Come again!” as he enjoyed the company of those around him.
Duane is lovingly remembered by his wife Charleen, Clarkfield, MN; daughter Angie (Mark) Templin, Pipestone, MN; grandson Daniel (Hailey) Templin, Apple Valley, MN; granddaughter Katelyn (James) Uthe, Harrisburg, SD; four great-grandsons: Elias, Simon, Gideon, and Malachi Templin; three great-granddaughters: Mackenzie, Lydia, and Selah Uthe; and sister-in-law, Beverly Kindt. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Lowell Wallert, and sisters Karen Anderson and Florene Ningen.
