Former principal of two Columbus area schools dies at 82
A former principal of two Columbus area schools has died.
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Duane “Dutch” Francis Kockx, who was headmaster of St. Anne-Pacelli High School and Glenwood School, died Jan. 16 at Columbus Hospice, according to McMullen Funeral Home.
He was 82.
His funeral will be Jan. 24 at McMullen Funeral Home, 3874 Gentian Blvd., in Columbus at 12:30 p.m., preceded by a viewing and reception starting at 11:30 a.m.
Kockx led Pacelli from 1976-91, then Glenwood from 1993-96.
St. Anne-Pacelli president and high school principal Ronie Collins, who graduated from Pacelli in 1979, told the Ledger-Enquirer that Kockx was “an outstanding principal” whose legacy is a role model for her now as a leader.
“He knew us by name,” she said. “He cared about us. You would always see him at different events. Even after we graduated, he kept up with us. This was even before social media. He knew what you were doing. . . . He just was a kindhearted, very caring person who loved students.”
More importantly, Collins added, he made it clear that he also liked them.
“He’d correct us when we needed to be corrected, but he just showed he enjoyed us,” she said. “That definitely was very impactful for me.”
Kockx promised students, if they caught him wearing the same tie twice, he would give them an ice cream party. He never lost that bet, according to his obituary.
“He was kind of a dapper guy,” Collins said. “He was always clean cut and dressed nicely. I think, for him, everything was just modeling high standards for us.”
After leaving Glenwood, Kockx became a counselor at Skinner and Associates then helped established Landmark Counseling Service.
“While he worked with people of all walks of life,” his obituary says, “he had a special connection with veterans in need of someone to talk to who knew the life of the armed services — someone who knew the space between fear and loss, and pride and accomplishment — someone who knew how to come home and be at home.”
Born in Millbank, S.D., Kockx joined the South Dakota National Guard in 1954 and graduated from Officer Candidate School in 1959. He served two tours in Korea and two combat tours in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot before retiring from the Army in 1976.
This story was originally published January 20, 2020 at 10:16 AM.
