REMEMBERING PETE DUEL
Thank you to everyone who leaves such poignant and heartfelt expressions in The Memorial Book—and for all your kind words about this site. Your kinship is extremely appreciated. —Laura
Please post your thoughts below. The previous Memorial Book was receiving too much spam, so I had to close it and start this page instead. The previous memorial page also had hundreds of remembrances. I hope to someday transfer them here.
There may be a delay between when you leave your thoughts below and when your post appears, but rest assured, the post will eventually be published. Please keep in mind that many questions still remain about Peter’s state of mind in those final days of his life. One recent question is how much of a role the anti-seizure drug, Dilantin, played on his thoughts. Perhaps Pete was a victim of a pharmaceutical drug and not so much of self-inflicted depression. Also note that Geoffrey Deuel sometimes visited this page. Thank you.
For an amazing man who bought joy without realising and inspired many to work for the environment. A soul aching to be free.
THERE COMES A TIME
There comes a time to every mortal being,
Whate’er his station or his lot in life,
When his sad soul yearns for the final freeing
From all this jarring and unlovely strife.
There comes a time when, having lost its savor,
The salt of wealth is worthless; when the mind
Grows weary with the world’s capricious favor,
And sighs for some thing that it does not find.
There comes a time when, though kind friends are thronging
About our pathway with sweet acts of grace,
We feel a vast overwhelming longing,
For something that we cannot name or place.
There comes a time when, with Earth’s best love by us
To feed the heart’s great hunger and desire,
We find not even this can satisfy us;
The soul within us cries for something higher.
What greater proof need we that men inherit
A life immortal in another sphere ?
It is the homesick longing of the spirit
That cannot find its satisfaction here.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Oh to have been Peter Duel
Cock sure and just so cool
A handsome young man with big brown eyes
And a smile that beamed for miles and miles
But behind the veneer lay a troubled young sole
Clearly unable to find his role
Concerned for the environment and peoples entitlements
The suppression of ones creativity
Cancelling out all positivity
Injustice and adversity creating absurdity
A lack of parity fueling mans barbarity
All was not well as he sat and dwelt
Questioning humanity and that of his sanity
With just the sky above he no longer loved.
Just saw an episode of “The Virginian” with Pete Duel in it! It brought back memories for me of being a young teenage girl in love with “Hannibal Heyes / Joshua Smith” of “Alias Smith & Jones”. May God bless Pete & his family. I prayed for Pete today, will continue to do so, and will keep your family in my prayers. Sincerely, A fan, Grace M. Carroll
Loved watching his show wish he was still here if he could have seen how much everybody cared Prayers to the family (
Dear Vicki, I am both humbled, and gratified by your kind response to my sonnet. I always pray for words that have the ability to nestle in one’s heart and,in this case, bring both comfort to those who read it, and honor to the one with whom we share a bond of loss and enduring affection.
You are so correct. Peter will always be, ” loved and sorely missed”.
Take care, and thank you again. To know that my sonnet deeply touched your heart means more than words could ever hope to convey. Helen