March 17, 1965 – March 20, 2026
Rebecca (Becky) Susanne Duce passed away on March 20, 2026. She was born in Denver, Colorado, on March 17, 1965, to Earl and Carolyn Peeples and her older brothers David and Tom. The family built their cabin in Pleasant Valley and moved from the Boulder area to Ridgway permanently in 1979 where Becky and David both finished high school. Becky met Steve in Ridgway and they went snowmobiling up Owl Creek Pass as their first date. Even though Steve lost her off of the back of the snowmobile multiple times that day, the rest was history and they were married in September of 1988.
Becky enjoyed the outdoors and loved animals. She told stories about exploring the Ridgway and Dallas Divide area on horseback as a teenager and young adult. She was an accomplished photographer and worked at the llama ranch in Ridgway in her twenties, taking many photos of their show llamas and helping care for the animals. She even had her own mischievous alpaca named RayBan.
While Becky didn’t enjoy actually hunting very much, she loved her community of hunters from Colorado, Wisconsin and Minnesota who came to visit and hunt with Steve and the kids each fall. She cooked many of her famous hunting camp meals year after year for all to enjoy and opened her home to all who visited.
Although hunting wasn’t her thing, Becky loved fishing and was happiest when sitting on the dock in Wisconsin at the family’s Tippy Canoe fishcamp with sunflower seeds, a beer and a fishing pole waiting for the elusive Northern Pike to strike. One of her proudest and happiest moments was catching the big one with Grandpa Wayne lending a hand.
Becky and her mom Carolyn enjoyed painting, canning, sewing and crafting together and they often shared that love with their friends by teaching them how. Becky gifted all of her crafts and goods to friends and family. Her party mix, elk jerky and special bloody mary mix were legendary. Friends and relatives were often gifted handmade baby blankets and Christmas ornaments. We hope those fortunate enough to enjoy Becky’s talents, will look back and remember our mom’s generosity.
Becky’s joy in life were her kids and kids in general. She hated sports but loved watching them when her kids were playing and watched all of the kids games. She once had an entire hotel bar of strangers watching Eva’s basketball team playing in the NCAA tournament. She became an avid fan of the Paralympics after watching Heidi compete in Sochi. She loved collecting the challenge coins that Steven would gift her. Although she never became a grandma in the traditional way, all of the children of friends and relatives adored Aunt B — or Bebe, as she was called — and will treasure the time they spent in her care.
Becky was preceded in death by her parents Earl and Carolyn and her parents in law Wayne and Carole Duce. She is survived by her husband Steve, her kids Eva (Darian), Heidi (Scott) and Steven (Nora), her brothers David (Brenda) and Tom (Debbie) and nieces, nephews and extended family spread across the country and her beloved mini Aussie, Scrubby.
In lieu of flowers we encourage you to donate to the Shriners Children’s Hospital or Special Olympics Colorado in honor of Becky. Less formally, you can also channel your inner Becky by making a meal or a homemade gift for someone who could use a smile or a helping hand.
The family will host a Celebration of Life on Saturday, May 23, at the Duce House at 7700 Highway 62 starting at 2 pm. Bring an app, side or dessert to share along with your best Becky memories. Please carpool if you can.
Ouray County Plaindealer • 2026
