Duane Moyers, founder of Hesperia-based company Arizona Pipeline, to be remembered

Loved ones will celebrate the life of Duane Moyers. He grew up determined not to be poor and would later employ over a thousand people at his Hesperia-based company, Arizona Pipeline.

On September 25, the 92-year-old Moyers was surrounded by family at his Apple Valley home when he died, his family told the Daily Press.

A memorial service for Moyers is scheduled at 2 p.m. on Nov. 12 at Sunset Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary at 24000 Waalew Road in Apple Valley.

Among his family are three daughters, six grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

Moyers touched many lives during his career and his grandchildren will continue pushing Arizona Pipeline forward and honoring his legacy, his family said.

Arizona Pipeline

In 1979, the 50-year-old Moyers took decades worth of experience in the piping industry and launched Arizona Pipeline. He did so amid a recession and when some questioned the wisdom of anyone starting a business.

Moyers got a call from Southwest Gas asking if he could put some crews together for a project in Casa Grande. He studied over the weekend and took his Arizona contractors license test that next week.

When asked about the company's name, Moyers was so busy studying that he hadn't considered one.

The clerk asked him what he liked. When Moyers answered "the desert," she suggested using the name Arizona. And that's how Arizona Pipeline Company came to be.

From that small crew in Casa Grande, Moyers began to grow and expand gas operations into other areas, including Tucson, Phoenix, the High Desert, Reno, and Las Vegas.

Moyers expanded into communications and SCE work in the 90s because he thought he had "too many eggs in one basket."

He believed in "surrounding yourself with the right people" and "Tomorrow doesn't exist, get it done today." His favorite quote was, "Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way," his family said.

He built Arizona Pipeline with the help of hard-working, loyal employees he greatly respected. Many of them have been employed for well over 20, 30, and some even over 40 years.

Currently, Arizona Pipeline has over 1,000 employees and has expanded into over 12 divisions spread across Arizona, Nevada, and California.

Moyers eased into semi-retirement around 2008, took on the role of business advisor, and handed the company leadership over to his family.

Before Moyers died, he told business people his advice: "Stick with what you know – play your best cards. Hire the absolute best people you can get, and surround yourself with them. And look ahead — try to see what's coming down the road and prepare for it."

Life in a chicken coop

In 1930, Lowell "Duane" Moyers was born in Globe, Arizona, to Thomas Jefferson and Alta Beulah Moyers.

Growing up, Moyers attended 23 different schools by the time he graduated.

In a previous interview with the Daily Press, Moyers said his father moved the family from place to place, trying a variety of jobs in locations across the U.S., including California.

"The depression was a very big factor," Moyers said. "He was always trying to find a way to make a living."

Moyers remembers the embarrassment of having to wear government-issued clothing, which was supplied to the poor.

"They had the letters stamped on there. I think it was NRA – National Relief Administration," Moyers said. "You can imagine how that went over at school."

Moyers told the Daily Press that when he was 12, his family moved back to Arizona. But he didn't like it, so he hitchhiked back to California four years later.

He worked odd jobs, including bus boy, short order cook, and newspaper carrier. At one point, he lived in a chicken coop with a tin roof and linoleum floor that he installed.

"I didn't complain," Moyers said. “It was a good chicken coop.”

Moyers graduated from Downey High School in 1946 and immediately went to work for Pacific Pipeline, an underground construction company in Montebello.

At 18, Moyers began a 26 year career with Pacific Pipe, where he was made foreman on his first crew. He moved up through the company in the role of timekeeper, superintendent, estimator, and general superintendent.

Moyers married and started a family.

While continuing to work, Moyers took a 2-year leave when U.S. military forces entered the Korean War in 1950.

You’re in the Army now

In 1951, Moyers knew that a low draft number meant it was only a matter of time before he was forced into military service.

Wanting to control his destiny, he enlisted in the Army. He attended radio operator school on the East Coast, then was shipped to Germany, where he served for two years.

After returning home from Germany, Moyers was rehired at Pacific Pipe. He also enrolled in college and graduated with his associate’s degree from Compton College in 1960.

When Pacific Pipe was sold in 1973, Moyers didn’t want to be part of the deal, so he began working at Victor Valley Pipeline and put down roots in the High Desert.

He served as vice president of VV Pipeline from 1973 to 1977, then went on to head up Macco Constructors in Apple Valley for two years before he started Arizona Pipeline.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Arizona Pipeline founder Duane Moyers to be remembered