Duane J Sweat

Duane J. Sweat (82) returned to his Heavenly Father Tuesday, January 11, 2022. He passed away at his home in Center Creek, surrounded by his loving family, just a stone’s throw away from the house where he was born on September 1, 1939. Duane was welcomed into this world by his parents, Alvie Howard and Elizabeth Campbell Sweat, along with his older siblings Theon, NaDene and Lavar. Evan joined them a few years later.

Duane loved his childhood, always speaking very fondly of being raised on the farm where he had daily chores and learned the value of hard work. This was during simpler times when the hay was put up with a team of horses, the dairy cows were milked by hand, and the beef cows were trailed up to the mountain for the summer. Duane loved working the farm with his father’s teams of horses, especially Silver and Dove which he talked about up until the time of his death. In his younger years if he and friends decided to attend a movie or other activities in Heber, they hoped to catch a ride to town, but almost always walked home on the gravel road to Center Creek. The family would travel by horse-drawn wagon in the summer and by sleigh in the winter.

Duane attended public schools in Heber where he started at Central Elementary, later attending the original Wasatch High School which included grades 7-12 and was located where the current city park now resides. During his time at Wasatch, he held numerous leadership positions including class president, captain of the football team, and FFA secretary. He was also a member of the wrestling team, which began a legacy of sons, grandsons and great-grandsons whose success has made the Sweat name synonymous with excellence in Utah High School Wrestling. He fully embodied the idyllic teenage years of the 50’s era by purchasing a ’52 Chevy hard-top with his own hard-earned money. When he wasn’t working on the farm or working at Bill Mangum’s gas station, he enjoyed cruising, racing his buddies on airport road, and chasing after Janet Brimhall, who after some convincing became the “best thing that ever happened to him”.

After dating for some time and falling in love, Duane and Janet were married in the Salt Lake Temple on September 30, 1957. They have loved, cherished, supported and been by one another’s side almost every day since for 65 years. During this time Janet gave birth to seven children, Kent, Kraig, Scott, Susan, Paul, Lynn and Cheryl. They also opened their home to four Navajo foster children, Clifford, Paula, Josephine and Kennicita, who still call them Mom and Dad to this day. Duane and Janet loved raising their children in Center Creek where they taught them to love the Gospel of Jesus Christ, attending the Center Ward where Duane held several leadership positions including Bishop from 1978-1983.

Duane enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the construction industry. He was a skilled finish carpenter known for his craftsmanship and attention to detail. He spent 31 years of his career working at Brigham Young University where he made numerous lifelong friends.

Duane loved farming and ranching as a young boy and raised his children in a similar way. Putting up hay, feeding cows, changing the water and taking care of all the other farm animals kept the family busy doing what they loved. The annual cattle drive from Center Creek to the West Fork, summer camp trips to fix fence and tend the cows, and of course the weeklong round-up in October were the favorites and became a way of life for Duane, Janet and their family.

Throughout his life Duane demonstrated a strong commitment to community service fueled by a belief that he should and could make a difference. Duane served as the secretary of the Center Creek Irrigation company for over 30 years and the President of Center Creek Culinary Water company for several years and supervised the implementation of an entirely new infrastructure being put in place in the early 2000s. Duane was elected to the Wasatch County School Board for four consecutive terms providing wise, well-thought-out leadership to a growing school district for 16 years, including 4 years as the Board President. He was appointed by Governor Norman Bangerter to the Fourth District Judicial Selection Committee where he helped appoint new judges for several years.

In later years after the children were raised, Duane and Janet served two missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first was a proselyting mission to Cherry Hill, New Jersey and the second was to Nauvoo, Illinois where they had the very special experience of conducting tours through the Carthage Jail. While in Nauvoo, Duane was also assigned to be a teamster, giving him a unique opportunity to handle and drive a team on a daily basis. This enabled him to revisit his love of teams and wagons from his childhood years, all while serving the Lord as a missionary.

In 2019, Duane and Janet were honored as the Grand Marshals of the Wasatch County Fair Days in gratitude for their lifetime of service to the Wasatch County community.

Duane’s strong legacy of church and community service has lived on to the next generations as numerous children and grandchildren can be found carrying on this important work fulfilling many church and community positions.

Duane’s mother and father, his wife’s parents Harold and Dorothy Brimhall, his brother Theon Sweat, sister NaDene Sweat Probst, son-in-law Matthew Isabell and granddaughter Abigail Sweat preceded him in death.

He is survived by his beloved Janet, children Kent and Diane, Kraig and Jill, Scott and CoriAnn, Susan Isabell, Paul and Teri, Lynn and Dallas, and Cheryl and Leon Rhoades. Also fondly remembering Grandpa Duane are his 36 grandchildren and 57 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 22, 2022, at 11 am at the Heber East Stake Center, 2395 South Mill Road, Heber City, Utah. Services will also be streamed at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnnUFIsQ4bk

Friends are welcome on Friday, January 21, from 6-8 pm at the same location to visit with family and celebrate the life of Duane. His favorite refreshments will be served.

An additional viewing will be held Saturday 9:30-10:30 am prior to the funeral services.