Duane Williams was born in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma on February 4, 1945 to Mary Catherine and Verlin Williams. Duane was raised by his paternal grandparents Oscar and Ellen Williams from the time he was 6 months old. They lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Duane graduated from Will Rogers High School in the spring of 1963.

Duane joined the Army after High School graduation and served for 3 years overseas in Germany. He was stationed on the Berlin Wall for part of his service and also on the Persian Missile Base.

Duane worked in various occupations after he was discharge from the Army. He worked for numerous companies as sales representative and for a time built houses. He became acquainted with Wayne and Elaine Deyo in Platte City, MO and went to work as a shuttle driver for the Hotel where Wayne worked. Wayne was instrumental in helping Duane train for his next career in hotel management.

While Duane was under the employment of a Hotel Management Company, he was assigned to manage the Barrington Hotel in Branson. He fell in love with the area and was sad when he was sent to New Jersey on his next hotel management job. Fate would bring him back to Branson when he was offered the job as General Manager of the Barrington Hotel by its owners. When the Barrington Hotel ownership changed, he became the General Manager of the Guest House Hotel. He also managed the Foxborough Inn and worked with the Morris Hotel Group and the Myers Hotel Group. During this time, he served 2 years as President of the Branson Lodging Association and was President of the Shepherd of the Hills Association.

While Duane enjoyed Hotel Management he had a real talent and love for sales and marketing. He started working with many of the shows in Branson and put together packages which included hotel stay and show tickets to entice families to come to Branson. He attended all the major Bus Conventions including NTA, ABA, OMCA, SYTA, and Going on Faith just to name a few. He developed a relationship with AAA Travel Missouri which owned offices in Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. He expanded his travels to the AAA offices in Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas.

In August of 2001, Duane was introduced to Marian Hile who was working for Jimmy Osmond as his assistant and accountant by some of his marketing associates who set Duane and Marian up and went with them on their first date. Things became serious very quickly and Duane and Marian were married on March 16, 2002. After a honeymoon in Hawaii, the newlyweds settled in their home in Hollister, MO. Early in the marriage, Duane decided to open his own marketing company and thoroughly enjoyed representing numerous hotels and shows marketing Branson at both bus conventions for groups business and AAA Travel offices for individual travelers. He published and distributed his Branson Travel Planner for a number of years.

Duane’s health began to decline in December of 2023 and he was forced to retire. He passed away peacefully in his home on June 24th, 2026. He is survived by his wife Marian and his beloved dog Abby.

Duane was blessed to be a part of several wonderful families during his lifetime and loved them with all of his heart. Duane had a 50+ year friendship with Greg Fisher as they become friends after Duane’s discharge from the Army. He became Greg’s brother in his heart and soul and Greg’s parents took him in as one of their own. Through the years the friendship and bond grew and when Greg married he gained Trish as his sister-in-law and was blessed with nieces Morgan and Kimberly and his nephew Aric. Greg preceded Duane in death in May of 2025.

Duane also had a very strong bond with the Deyo/Topka family and enjoyed attending family celebrations with them during the Holidays. Wayne and Elaine actually relocated to Branson to be close to Duane. Elaine’s son Cameron Topka and wife Andrea and their family soon followed. Wayne passed away early in 2003 and Cameron in November of 2023.

Duane had a very special love for our Pastor Dave Hamner and his wife Denise. Dave traveled with Duane on numerous marketing trips, promoting for the Hamners Theater and its numerous shows. He also loved going with Dave to visit church members who were unable to attend service due to illness. Dave and Denise spent many hours helping me care for Duane during his illness both physically and spiritually.

Duane also had a great friendship with Cliff and Janice Braschler and their family. For several years before Duane’s illness, Jan and Cliff and Duane had breakfast with numerous guests in the Hamners Box Office on a daily basis. Cliff passed away 2/15/2023.

Finally, Duane was blessed with two very special ladies that took care of him in our home during the final 2 and ½ years of his life. Andrea Topka began taking care of him in December of 2023 and helped no matter what time of the day, night or weekend she was needed until his passing. Cathey Wiley took care of Duane beginning in September of 2025 and continued until his passing.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to your favorite children’s charity.