Duane H. Berquist, Ph.D., 83, of Shrewsbury

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Duane H. BerquistShrewsbury – Duane H. Berquist, Ph.D., 83, of Shrewsbury, died peacefully Jan. 22, 2019.

Duane was born in Minneapolis, Minn. and raised in St. Paul, Minn., son of the late Reno and Gertrude (Burke) Berquist. He was the youngest of three sons, all of whom became teachers in philosophy. Duane was educated at the College of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minn., he received his Licentiate and Doctorate at Universite Laval, Quebec, Canada.

Duane, a noted Philosophy professor, taught for three years at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif. He then spent the next 44 years as a tenured faculty member in the Philosophy Department of Assumption College in Worcester before he retired. He also lectured weekly for over 20 years for the monks at Most Holy Trinity Monastery in Petersham. Duane was a founding member and former Vice President of the Society for the study of Aristotelian-Thomistic Studies (1974).

Duane was a longtime member of Saint Mary’s Parish in Shrewsbury, and had been a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic since the age of seventeen.

He leaves his loving wife of 50 years, Rosalie A. (Leone) Berquist; three children, Lt.Col Paul T. Berquist, USA, Ret. and his wife Elizabeth of Williamsburg, Va., Maria S. Caughron and her husband Mathew of Kansas City, Mo., and Marcus Berquist, of Alpharetta, Ga.; 19 grandchildren, Martin, Anne, Mary Rose, Lucy, Grace, Thomas, Clare, Dominic, and Nicholas Berquist, Katherine, Sara, Cecilia, Miles, Isabella, Sophia, John, Paul, Julia and David Caughron; and a brother, Richard H Berquist of St. Paul, Minn. Besides his parents, Duane was predeceased by a brother, Marcus R. Berquist.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Duane’s family Friday, Feb. 1, form 4-7 p.m., at Britton-Shrewsbury Funeral Home, 648 Main St., Shrewsbury. His funeral will be from the funeral home Saturday, Feb. 2, with a funeral Mass celebrated at 10 a.m. at Saint Mary’s Church, 640 Main St., Shrewsbury.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Duane’s name may be sent to Most Holy Trinity Monastery, 67 Dugway, Petersham, MA 01633 or St. Mary’s Parish Capital Campaign, 18 Summer St., Shrewsbury, MA 01545.

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