'Humble', 'Full Of Life': Teen Killed In Cass County Remembered

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN—Berkley Duckson, the college student from Mendota who was killed in a snowmobile accident Friday, will be remembered as somebody whose positivity deeply impacted those around him.

Duckson, 18, graduated from Minnehaha Academy in the spring of 2020 and studied economics at Texas Christian University. Josh Hoekstra, Duckson’s high school hockey coach, told Patch the university held a candlelight vigil in Duckson's honor.

The Minnehaha Redhawks hockey team retired Duckson’s jersey—number 14— on Tuesday night.

“It was something we wanted to do because the season is coming to an end, and we wanted this situation to get some proper attention. This was something we could do for Berkley’s memory, and for his dad,” Hoekstra said. “His dad was pretty proud of the fact that his jersey was retired.”

The retirement ceremony consisted of Hoekstra standing at center ice, surrounded by members of both the Redhawks and the opposing team, as they talked about Duckson.

“We miss him, and it was an honor for me to retire his jersey,” Hoekstra said.

Teammates that graduated with Duckson came back to Minnehaha Academy for the ceremony, Hoekstra told Patch.

Duckson was also incredibly humble, said his senior year AP micro and macroeconomics teacher David Hoffner.

“He got into all twelve schools he applied for for college, but he was humble,” Hoffner said. “He wasn’t patting himself on the back or announcing it, he just humbly took care of business.”

Hoekstra said that his humble nature carried onto the ice rink as well.

“He was so humble and kind,” Hoekstra said. “Anything he could do to build somebody up, he did.”

Duckson was known for helping out his younger teammates.

“An example is as a freshman just starting to play hockey, you don’t know anyone or have your driver’s license yet, so those first few weeks are always tough,” Hoekstra said. “Berkley was the first guy to make sure that kid had a ride to North or South campus, and to hockey practice. He made sure that person wasn’t left out. He went out of his way for the little guy, that’s something I love about him.”

From hockey to academics, Duckson was extremely passionate.

“He was just someone who was driven to excellence,” Hoffner said. “You could see that he was full of life.”

Duckson also started a fishing team and an investing club, Hoffner told Patch.

Describing him as hard working and driven, Hoekstra remembered the way Duckson would take off his helmet, his hair pooling with sweat and his face beat red from skating so hard.

“The way he played hockey was very passionate, he gave it his all,” Hoekstra said. “He was always giving 110 percent.”

Maybe most of all, Duckson will be remembered for his positivity.

Hoffner told Patch that Duckson often lit up every room he entered.

“Berkley entered class every day with a smile, and physically eager to learn,” Hoffner said. “This was a kid who was relentless in his desire to really master subjects.”

Hoekstra told Patch that Duckson always tried to make others smile.

“He had a great sense of humor,” Hoekstra said. “He was one of those larger-than-life kids that loved to smile, loved to laugh, loved to make people laugh.”

Hoffner said the memory of Duckson’s positivity is unifying for the grieving community.

“He made the spaces he was in better, and I’m going to miss him terribly,” Hoffner said.

Duckson loved his teammates, Hoekstra told Patch.

“If someone was having a bad day or was down, Berkeley was there with a kind word to pump them up a little bit,” Hoekstra said. “He didn’t walk into the locker room to be a big-timer. It was never ‘I’m a senior hockey player’, it was ‘You’re on my team, let’s go after it and get it done’. He treated everybody equally.”

In the past few days, people have told Hoekstra that whether they knew Duckson for years, or whether they had just met him recently, he made their day better.

Duckson’s memory will continue on with the Redhawks hockey team.

“We’ll put his jersey on the back of the bench during games,” Hoekstra said. “That’s one thing we can have a tangible memory of, keeping in mind that we’re all lucky to play, privileged to be among friends, and keeping in the back of our minds that we lost someone who was important to us.”