He moved to Chicago in his youth where his father, Charles Duax, was employed as a butter and food products salesman.
In 1941, he was hired as the athletic director and basketball coach at Catholic Central High School in Hammond, Indiana.
[8] In 1951, Duax left De La Salle High School in Chicago to become the head basketball coach at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa.
[15] After suffering a heart attack,[16] and citing health issues, he resigned as the head basketball coach in 1966.
"[20]After resigning as the men's basketball coach, Duax in September 1966 assumed the job as St. Ambrose's athletic director.
[25] Duax was also elected to two terms on the Scott County Board of Supervisors, and served as the chairman of the Quad Cities' Bi-State Metropolitan Planning Commission for a time in the 1970s.
In November 1975, Duax was first elected as mayor of Davenport as a Republican, after defeating Dallas George in a contest featuring five candidates.
But come late afternoon, or on frequent nights and weekends during the winter, he turns his worrying to such matters as polishing a stingy basketball defense, balancing a sometimes sluggish scoring assault, and building the endurance of a dozen young women.