The Duker name and providing funeral goods and services in the Quincy area have long been synonymous. It has been nearly one hundred and seventy years ago, in 1848 when Frank Duker opened his furniture and undertaking business at 722 Maine. In those early days, the phone number for Duker’s was simply “11”. In March of 1937, the grandsons of Frank Duker, Albert "Butch" and John Duker moved the funeral home to the present location at 823 Broadway. Butch Duker died January 12,1957 and following the death of John Duker on June 7, 1969, Lawrence "Froggy" Howarth, a longtime employee of the firm, was asked to manage the home on behalf of John's four daughters who themselves did not work at the funeral home.

When Francis and Alma Haugh moved to Quincy in 1946 from Davenport, Iowa they were fulfilling a dream to own their own funeral home. They bought the Freiburg-Wiskirchen Funeral Home at 805 Spring Street, and as was common, intended to live in the apartment above the funeral parlor. In this home, a block away from 823 Broadway, is where Pat & Rick Haugh grew-up. This is the neighborhood they played-in, where their friends lived, and where they went to school and church. In 1965, Francis and Pat Haugh purchased the Frey Funeral Home in Liberty, Illinois. In 1983, a year after their father, Francis Haugh, died the Haugh brothers had the opportunity to buy Duker Funeral Home. When they bought the funeral home, included with the business were the wonderful funeral directors, Lawrence “Froggy” Howarth and John Ellis.

Since then, as most of you probably know, the building was destroyed by fire in 1988. The exterior is a replica of the former, familiar building that has stood at 823 Broadway for as long as any of us can remember. The interior of the building was designed to accommodate many types of services, and lends itself well to creating an appropriate setting for each service. Many things have changed, and over time, property adjacent to and behind the funeral home has been acquired in an effort to provide room for expansion and to enhance the appearance of the surrounding area.

Our friends, John Ellis passed away in 1998 and Froggy Howarth in 2002.

In 2008, cousins, Ann Haugh and Jared Haugh purchased the funeral home from their parents, Pat and Linda and Rick and Judy respectively. We and our staff continue to provide the Quincy area with funeral services that successfully meet the needs of each family, and to honor and remember each life as we would for our own family members.