DELRAY BEACH — Patricia Bancker Duane died May 10 after a long illness. She was 93.
Born May 30, 1930, in Mineola, New York, to Jean (nee Monahan) and Adrian Bancker, Patsy Ann was a descendant of the earliest Dutch settlers of Staten Island and grew up in an old farmhouse on Manhasset Bay in Plandome, New York.
A tomboy, young Miss Bancker enjoyed outdoor sports, especially sailing her first dinghy, named Pollywog.
She graduated from Manhasset Bay High School in 1948 and Mount Holyoke College in 1952.
Pat Bancker and John “Jack” Marshall Duane Jr. met on a blind date during their college years and married at Fort Shafter Chapel in Honolulu in 1952, when Jack was stationed in Hawaii. They moved back to Jack’s hometown of Boston and, after one winter, decided to make Fort Lauderdale their home.
The Duanes moved to Delray Beach in 1954, and there raised their children, Jean Pavlov and John Marshall Duane III.
Pat and Jack quickly became involved in the community and made lifelong friends.
Mr. Duane became a notable in banking while Mrs. Duane was an active community volunteer in Delray Beach over the years.
She was on the committee that founded the Aqua Crest Pool, and worked as a substitute science teacher at Seacrest High School for months during a teachers’ strike in the 1960s.
The couple founded the Delray Beach Yacht Club. Mrs. Duane was a member of the Seacrest Association of University Women, a member and longtime treasurer of the Beach Property Owners Association, and a dedicated deacon at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach.
Mrs. Duane was a wonderful wife and mother to her young family, and a world-class sailing competitor. Always competing as a skipper and helmsman against the men, she was a two-time world champion (International Moth Class and International Flying Dutchman), two-time North American champion, four-time Midwinters Champion/FD, winner of the
1960 Adams Cup Championship (top U.S. women’s sailors), and winner of numerous ocean racing regattas.
With Jack crewing, the couple placed second in the 1960 U.S. Olympic trials and later represented the United States in the 1963 Pan American Games in Brazil.
Mrs. Duane was highlighted in Sports Illustrated “Faces in the Crowd” in 1962, and featured in the April 22, 1963, issue as “The Flying Lady of the Flying Dutchman.”
The couple were featured on ABC’s Wide World of Sports with Jim McKay in 1963, and Mrs. Duane was the “central character” of CBS’s To Tell the Truth (she fooled the panel).
The City Commission of Delray Beach declared a “Pat Duane Day” in 1963 in honor of her achievements.
Mrs. Duane was a focused and tenacious competitor, yet always humble in victory, developing close friendships with her fellow sailors.
In addition to sailboat racing, Mrs. Duane played tennis and golf and enjoyed reading. She was a member of the Delray Beach Yacht Club, the Country Club of Florida, Delray Dunes Golf Club, and a tennis member of the Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis Club.
In addition to her children, Jean (Jan) Pavlov and John Marshall (Susan) Duane III, Mrs. Duane is survived by six grandchildren: Elizabeth (Nathan) Talbot, Marshall (Logan) Duane, Caroline (Oliver) Kuntz, Jonathan (Selena) Pollow, Meghan (Bryan) Stern, and Jessica Pollow (Reuven) Bromberg; and 12 great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband, Jack, who died in 1995, her sister Audrey and grandson Matthew Pollow, as well as many beloved dogs, who were an important part of her life.
The family is most grateful to Mrs. Duane’s longtime housekeeper, Eather Mae Collins, aides Farah Francois and Rose Delaplane, the caring staff of Sonata in Boynton Beach and Dr. Madeleine DuPree of Vitas Hospice Care.
A private family memorial is planned. Any memorial donations may be directed to the Deacons Fund at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach.
— Obituary submitted by family
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