Clifford John Dukowitz passed away surrounded by two of his six daughters on Monday, August 3, 2020 at the home he built in Paddock Lake, Wisconsin. He was born on June 24, 1928 in Staples, Minnesota to Albert B. Dukowitz, Sr. and Pauline (Apollonia Magdziarz) Dukowitz.

Cliff met and married the love of his life, Eileen Marie Adamietz, at St. Isidore's Catholic Church near Staples, Minnesota. They were married on February 19, 1949 and had six daughters. This is a man who proudly endured sharing a single bathroom with seven females.  He loved each one of us, made each daughter feel special, and remained devoted to our mother, Eileen, to the end of his life.  He managed to remember anniversaries, birthdays, and even Easter corsages. Because he was not afforded an education, he valued it greatly and insisted upon a post-secondary education for each daughter. This is a man who set the bar very high with regard to being a husband, a father, and a grandfather.  He loved fishing, music, storytelling, and polka dancing.

He began working off the family farm by hauling gravel when his mother signed for him to get his driver's license at age 13. This was the beginning of several early-life jobs including being a lumberjack, a railroad gandy dancer, a railroad telegraph operator, and an apprentice engineer for Honeywell.  As a highly industrious young man, he built his own Model A pickup truck from scrap vehicle parts. He was known to invent tools, maintain and repair his own truck and vehicles, and teach others – including his daughters – to do so as well.  Frequently he would say, "Do the best with what you have."

In 1953, at age 25, he and his older brother Donnie left Minnesota for Kenosha, Wisconsin where they got jobs working as truck drivers for Kenosha Auto Transport (K.A.T.).  This began a 42-year career as a long-haul truck driver delivering new AMC, and later Chrysler, cars from the Kenosha rail head to dealerships across the adjoining 48 states.  Cliff was known to right a wrong when he noticed one: He organized numerous K.A.T. retirement parties, one for each of the older truckers who mentored and befriended him.  He was a career-long Teamsters Union member and supporter.  Cliff retired from truck driving in 1995 at the age of 67.

Not one to sit idly by, he almost immediately obtained a municipal job with the Village of Paddock Lake, Wisconsin where he could be seen on summer days operating the aquatic weed harvester. In 2000, his lifelong sport fishing hobby soon evolved into a successful salmon and trout fishing charter business operating out of the Kenosha harbor.  In a boat aptly named, Duke's Duchess, Captain Cliff would wake at 3 am, buy doughnuts, and meet his customers, and head out into the cool fog on Lake Michigan to "find fish". His greatest joy was for his customers to catch their limit of fish and have a fun day on the lake. He was an active member of the Kenosha Charter Boat Association and the Kenosha Sportfishing and Conservation Association. Captain Cliff fished until he was 82.

Cliff is survived by his wife of 71-years, Eileen; his six daughters, Madeline (Runkel), Barbara (Erdman), Rosanne (Hopkins) Dukowitz, Nancy (Giles), Marji (Eckert) Dukowitz, and Lisa Dukowitz; his four sons-in-law, Jim Erdman, Sr., Walt Hopkins, Dan Eckert, and Mike Leffelman; his 12 grandchildren, Ron Runkel, Jr., Katie (Seewald), Steve Runkel, Grant Runkel, Melanie (Shumaker), John Erdman, Clifton Beth, Miranda (Marsala), Briana (Schlotthauer), Sam Giles, Nash Eckert, and Gabby Eckert; and his 17 great grandchildren.

In addition to his parents, Cliff is preceded in death by his seven siblings: David Dukowitz, Leona (Supella), Donnie Dukowitz, Genevieve (Sweeney), Lawrence Dukowitz, Albert Dukowitz, Jr., and Sylvia (Reis); his grandson, Jimmy Erdman, Jr.; and two of his sons-in-law, Ron Runkel, Sr. and Brian Beth, Jr.

The family extends immense gratitude to Dr. Locurto, Dr. Shah, and Dr. Santarelli; as well as Cliff's home care givers Mary Popularum, Yaroslava (Skava) Berezhntska, and Michelle Dix.

A graveside service will be held for the immediate family only at the Bristol-Paris Cemetery with a memorial following at the Kenosha Yacht Club.

In lieu of flowers, donations made in Cliff's memory to the Kenosha Sportfishing and Conservation Association or to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research are appreciated.