Attorney Duncan remembered for being trustworthy, respected
SEAN P. FLYNN, Staff Writer
Published February 10, 2007

Attorney Mike Duncan died Thursday as a result of Lou Gerhig's Disease.
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Michael N. Duncan was always one of the most trustworthy and respected people that Charlie Jones ever knew.

"If Mike told you something, you didn't have to worry about it," Jones said. "It's like they say, 'his word is his bond,' and it was for Mike."

Duncan, a prominent Spartanburg lawyer, died Thursday night of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. He was 55.

Duncan graduated from Spartanburg High School in 1969, and attended The Citadel before transferring to Wofford College, where he graduated in 1973. He graduated from the University of South Carolina Law School in 1976 and practiced law in Spartanburg for 29 years, most recently at the firm Duncan & Phillips.

Duncan also served as a deacon at First Baptist Church, a municipal judge in Chesnee and the city attorney for Wellford.

He is survived by his mother, Alliene Layton Duncan, his wife Helen Maria "Rie" Boniface Duncan, his brother Bill and four children --Virginia, Elizabeth, Mary and David.

The family will receive friends at his residence on Arbor Road on Sunday afternoon, and a funeral service will be held Monday at First Baptist.

At Spartanburg High, he was a football player and active in student government.

"He always kept such good care of himself, even into his diagnosis," said Terrell Ball, the associate director of admissions at Wofford, who graduated with Duncan from Spartanburg High and Wofford. In high school, "he was a top athlete, and he was very well known in school, very popular."

Duncan's great-great-grandfather came to Spartanburg when he was hired as the first professor at Wofford College. His grandfather donated the land that became Duncan Park.

Jones met Duncan in the 10th grade, and the two graduated from high school, college and law school together. They eventually practiced law together for many years.

Duncan was an accomplished athlete at Spartanburg High and remained active throughout his life. He was diagnosed with ALS, a degenerative neurological disease, in June of 2005.

"You know somebody that long, see him almost every day, five or six days a week, it's hard to imagine that anything will happen to him," Jones said. "You're not going to imagine he won't be around."

Sean P. Flynn can be reached at 562-7426 or sean.flynn@shj.com.