James "Jim" R. Duncan passed away the evening of June 19, 2017, after a brief bout with cancer. His wife, brother and a few friends were at his side. 

Jim was born in Batavia, New York on May 11, 1954 to Charles H. Duncan and Elizabeth Steinhausen Duncan. His family moved to Fullerton, California in 1956 where Jim graduated from Sunny Hills High School. 

Jim then lived in Eugene, OR, Phoenix, AZ, and Las Vegas before settling in Sacramento. Jim worked in the construction industry as a foreman/operator for Henkels & McCoy and Copenhagen Utilities & Construction Services and then as a superintendent for Arrow Drillers for the past 11 years. 

Jim met the love of his life in North Shore Tahoe in 1998 then moved to Truckee, California in 2000 to be with her. He married Karen Jean Brandmahl at Sugar Bowl in 2002 and they moved onto 2.5 beautiful acres in Reno, Nevada in 2004, where they loved to garden together. 

Jim was one of those people who everyone liked as soon as they met him. He was mellow, patient, funny, sweet, loving, hardworking and always willing to help a neighbor. He was known to be quite thrifty except after a few cocktails. His friends joked that he probably had every dollar he ever made. Jim's favorite pastime was anything that went fast and made a lot of noise: car races, boat races, air races and motorcycle races. 

Jim is survived by his wife, Karen, his two brothers, Thomas "Tom" C. Duncan and Richard "Rick" J. Duncan, ‘67 (wife Chris) and his niece Kellie. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Published in The Sacramento Bee on July 2, 2017.

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