He was born in Houston, Texas, the eldest son of Harry and Dorothy (Boettcher) Duckett.
There he played both football and track under Coach Jess Neely as a member of the Owls' scout team.
During his junior season he had an injury and he began to work with Bill Whitmore,[2] who was the Owl's sports information director.
[4] For many years Duckett and his wife served as host family for foreign graduate students at Rice University.
When he heard there was a part-time History teaching job available at the Awty International School he immediately accepted.
In June 2007 he entered Methodist Hospital, in his native city of Houston, where he died, aged 74.