Mr. Duane Hillard Ealy

Duane Hillard Ealy (AKA Little Big Man) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 10, 1957, the son of Hillard and Curlee (Armon) Ealy. His parents' union had already been blessed with a daughter whom they named Vivian. Duane and his sister were very close. Duane received his formal education in the Milwaukee Public School System. He attended Victor Berger Elementary and Robert Fulton Junior High Schools and graduated from Rufus King High School in 1975. At the age of eight, Duane accepted Christ as his Savior and united with the Metropolitian Missionary Baptist Church where he served in numerous capacities, which included memberships in the youth, male. and inspirational choirs and the usher board. Duane continued to be a faithful member of the MetropOlitan Missionary Baptist Church family until his death. Duane worked various jobs throughout his youth, including a position at Badger Meats. He eventually secured a CNA position at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex where he worked for twenty-three years and met many of his present-day friends and his fiance, Lynnette Sherrill. He retired from the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex in July 2011. Duane was a very active individual and participated in a number of leisure time activities. Fishing and traveling were among them. but his greatest passion was for cooking. Simply put, Duane loved to cook and it didn't much matter what he cooked-neck bones, turnip greens, cornbread, pork chops, shrimp or chicken. Duane could do it all. His claim to fame. however, was his umm good finger-licking barbeque ribs. Duane was joyous, pleasant, and personable and he always seemed to be happy and always had a wide smile plastered across his face. He was quite the prankster, too, and got a big kick out of pulling one over on his friends and family. Duane was known for many things that could bring smiles to people's faces. One such thing was his way of talking. It was different. That's for sure and practically a language of its own. The vocabulary was limited to a few choice words but the delivery was really something special. Everybody who knew him knew exactly what those few choice words that he so often used were and they were truly amused by the stretched out to the limit way Duane said them. Duane Hillard Ealy departed this life on March 12.2016, He was preceded in death by his mother, Curlee (Armon) Ealy and his father, Hillard Earl Ealy. He leaves to cherish his memory, his fiance. Lynnette Sherrill; his daughter. Brandi; his sister, Vivian Ealy of Columbia, South Carolina: and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

Mr. Duane Hillard Ealy

July 10, 1957 - March 12, 2016