Mr. Trexler was a special agent of the U.S. Treasury Department.
A native of Rowan County, North Carolina, Mr. Trexler attended Mt. Pleasant Collegiate Institute and enrolled at Roanoke College, graduating in 1913. Mr. Trexler's early career was in secondary and higher education. He served as principal of high schools in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. He taught at Lenoir College, University of Alabama and Georgia Tech.
In 1929, he was named special agent of the U.S. Treasury Department and, except for four years during World War II, he served with the Treasury until he retired in 1959. From 1959 to 1963, he organized and directed the Fraud and Intelligence Unit, Georgia State Revenue Department.
His civic interests included Rotary, Sons of the American Revolution, Masons and the Shriners. He was an active Lutheran. Mr. Trexler served as president of the Roanoke College Alumni Association.
Duke C. Trexler received the Roanoke College Medal in 1969.