Duke Matthews Covert, beloved husband, father and grandfather, brother, steadfast and loyal friend, pillar of the Austin community, and true class act, passed away suddenly on Tuesday, December 22 from a non-COVID-related blood infection. He was surrounded by his wife and daughters. His life was a gift and our hearts are broken. We are devastated that he left us so early, but we are forever inspired by the legacy that he leaves us with.
A 5th generation Texan, Duke was born on August 15, 1946 to Dan Matthews Covert and Rachel Barnes Covert. He loved Austin so much that he rarely left Travis County other than to fulfill his lifelong passions of hunting and fishing. And even that was usually just a short drive to his El Sueño ranch near Llano.
He attended Casis Elementary and O. Henry Junior High and graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School in 1964. It was there that he met many of his best friends — friendships that he treasured and nurtured throughout his entire life. At Austin High, he was a scholar athlete, and was named all district in both baseball and football and as quarterback, he broke the record for most passing yards. As #11, he forever united his friends -- on and off the field and his friends said he always drank life in “big gulps.” While remaining loyal forever to Austin High and their Mighty Maroons, where his daughter Courtney graduated from, he was also a huge fan of the Westlake Chaparrals where his two younger daughters Kacy and Kimberley attended, and where he also never missed the opportunity to see his grandsons play.
Following in his older brother Rox’s footsteps, Duke attended TCU on a football scholarship, having turned down the opportunity to play baseball at the University of Texas. After one semester at TCU, he transferred to UT where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. At UT, he would earn the nickname of “Rapid Fire” for multiple intramural football championships and here again, he would build lifelong friendships.
Before graduation, Duke entered into the Texas Air National Guard in Wichita Falls, and returned to UT to graduate with a degree in finance in January 1969. During a weekend leave in Dallas, he convinced best friend Baker Montgomery to set him up on a date with Lynne Shapiro of Dallas. A few years before, Duke had spotted Lynne walking in front of the UT Tower and said to friend Tommy Harper, “Who is that?? I am going to marry her!” Three months after their first date, Duke proposed to Lynne and they were married in Dallas on February 1, 1969. She remained by his side for 52 wonderful years.
Duke then went to work at the Buick dealership on 5th Street that his great-grandfather, Frank M. Covert, Sr., started in 1909, although Duke had already spent many weekends and summers tagging along to work there with his father, “Big Dan”. With brothers Danay and Rox, Duke worked tirelessly in partnership with them to expand the family business and they grew it to be one of the largest and longest run family-owned auto dealerships in the state of Texas, if not the entire country. It was the extremely loyal and close-knit relationship he had with his brothers that laid the foundation for what the family business is today, led now by the 5th generation of Covert family members. So often it’s difficult for a family to remain in business together for so many years, across so many generations, but this was incredibly important to Duke and he was so proud to have kept it in the family. All three of his daughters worked there, in addition to numerous relatives and friends. And in the same way Duke invested in his friendships, Duke also formed unique connections to his employees at every level of the Covert team. He loved to give people a chance - and oftentimes he gave them a job - and he was a fervent believer that the car business taught so many important life lessons.
Duke was humble and didn’t care about material things but loved to treat Lynne, his girls and grandchildren and you only had to look into his eyes or watch his posture to know the depths of his love and pride for them. He loved to take care of others and was a dedicated mentor to numerous young people.
Duke loved big and cherished his family time above all else. He was full of wisdom and gave his girls all the best parts of him. He loved giving a good lecture and advice. He encouraged us all. He was a creature of habit and had numerous quirky routines. So many people thought of him as a second dad or uncle and as one said, “he loved me like one of his own.” People just wanted to make him proud and his love, care and guidance spread far and wide. He was like a great shepherd, whose enduring legacy will have immeasurable influence and impact.
A lifelong member of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Duke had a very strong and quiet faith. He lived a life of gladness and grace and saw the grace of God many, many times - through the birth of his three daughters and all 10 grandchildren and through early morning sunrises and sunsets looking out over the Hill Country from a deer blind or throwing a line from his bass boat.
He is survived by wife Lynne of 52 years and daughters Courtney Covert Elliott and her husband Brad Elliott; Kacy Covert Tolleson and her husband Carter Tolleson; and Kimberley Covert Robinson and her husband Philip Robinson, and Duke’s 10 precious grandchildren who loved their Papa dearly: Ford, Duke and Reese Elliott; Clara, Elliot, Kate and Cove Tolleson; and Hunter, Emma and Ryan Robinson. He is also survived by his two brothers, Rox Barnes Covert and wife Elizabeth Rogers Covert, and Danay Cottingham Covert and wife Judy Morris Covert, and their respective children and grandchildren and many other special relatives.
He is also survived by the best of friends and there are just too many to name, but these include friends from high school, college, business, hunting, golf and his neighborhood - in addition to his daughters’ friends and their families.
Duke touched everybody - no matter who they were - and he made everyone feel good about what they were capable of.
We all mourn, but the Angels are singing for his arrival. Heaven is full of big deer, monster bass and nothing but birdies and he would encourage us all to live by his motto: “GOD, FAMILY, HEALTH.”
As much as we would all love to gather and celebrate a life so well lived, due to COVID-19, we are sadly only able to have a family graveside service. We know that so many would love to come together to remember Duke and the impact he has had on us all. We thank you for the outpouring of love and support you have shown us over the last few days.
The family would like to express their gratitude for the extraordinary kindness and care shown this week by the staff at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center and the Cardio-Vascular ICU, and so many other physicians who took great care of Duke over the last 45 years.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a favorite charity or The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center or The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd.
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