Jeanette Duncheskie

Jeanette Duncheskie, age 86 of Clarksville, died Wednesday, March 9, 2016. She was born on September 30th 1929 to John and Kathryn Hoffman in Laona, Wisconsin. The family will receive friends on Saturday, March 12, 2016 from 1:00 PM until 5:00 PM at Sykes Funeral Home. The funeral service will be on Saturday, at 5:00 PM in Sykes Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow in the Niche Wall on Monday, March 14, 2016 at 10:00 AM at Kentucky Veterans West, next to her husband.
Jeanette grew up in Crandon, Wisconsin, one of six children, where everyone knew her as one of the "Hoffman girls". Her father owned the harness and shoe shop near the town square.  After graduation from high school she tried nursing school, and later worked in Milwaukee until she  decided to  join the United States Army. She was  in the Signal Corps as a Cryptologist. She met and married fellow service member Charles R. Duncheskie. At that time married women were not allowed to remain on active duty. Honorably discharged she proudly served as a military wife, and mother of  four to; Stephen, Carol, Joan and Tom. She set up a home wherever the Army sent her husband, and did  without the help and assistance that today’s Army wives take for granted. She made do with footlockers of basic household goods and set up homes in overseas locations, one without a commissary or exchange. She made living everywhere an adventure. Beds for her family at times consisted of army cots and wool blankets. She often she just “did without”. She made picnics in the Iranian desert and rode camels. She was not always politically correct, like the day she dismissed her assigned foreign military driver (after he drove the jeep into a ditch). Her ability to safely maneuver the military vehicle that day (with her children in the back seat) was not culturally correct because she was a “woman”. Her favorite military tour was Hawaii. The Vietnam war came and her husband was deployed with the 25th Infantry Division. She headed back to Tennessee alone with four children and a dog,driving back across the country. With little resources she set up a home in Clarksville where she raised their children.
In addition to her parents she is preceded in death by her husband Charles Duncheskie, and she is survived by her sons; Tom (Lisa) and Stephen, her daughters; Carol (Robert) Pierce, and Joan.  Her grandchildren; Carla , Lesa, Matt, Jenna, Nick, Pat, Julie and Kelly. They will always cherish her including her numerous great grandchildren who love and will miss their “Granny”! Her dog “Charlie” misses her too and would like to pass on to all “do not smoke, and if you do please stop”!
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Tennessee Quality Hospice at 900 Professional Park Drive #200, Clarksville, TN 37043.
Online condolences ma be made at sykesfuneralhome.com