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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of John Henry Duffin of Ottawa, who passed
4away on December 7, 2012; and
 
5    WHEREAS, John Duffin was born on June 11, 1929, in Oshkosh,
6Nebraska; his parents were John H. and Mary Elizabeth Duffin;
7he married Beverly Barger on December 31, 1949; and
 
8    WHEREAS, After the passing of his father and his mother's
9remarriage 3 years later, John Duffin and his family moved west
10and settled in La Grande, Oregon, where he completed high
11school; after a short stint at Eastern Oregon University, he
12set his sights on an acting career and left Oregon for the
13University of Iowa School of Drama; while in Iowa City, he met
14and fell in love with his future wife; the couple later moved
15to Des Moines, Iowa, to be closer to her family; and
 
16    WHEREAS, After moving to Des Moines, John Duffin worked a
17series of jobs before finally working third shift at an
18aircraft factory while he completed his bachelor's degree at
19Drake University in Des Moines; rather than pursuing acting, he
20entered a lifelong career in education; he later earned a
21master's degree in fine arts at the University of Iowa; he
22accepted a position teaching high school speech and English and

 

 

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1taught for several years in Iowa; in 1963, he accepted a
2position at Ottawa High School (OHS) and stayed there for 26
3years, teaching speech and English until his retirement in
41989; he also served as chairman of the English department at
5OHS for 20 years; and
 
6    WHEREAS, John Duffin was a recipient of a Master Teacher
7Award from the State of Illinois for his work in education; and
 
8    WHEREAS, John Duffin enjoyed coaching competitive speech
9and directing high school plays; with the help of talented
10colleagues and dedicated students, he built highly successful
11speech teams and enjoyed many successes over the years; his
12reputation among his peers was excellent and he was honored by
13being elected president of the Illinois Speech and Theater
14Association for a year; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Following his retirement, John Duffin secured a
16position teaching speech and English at Patch High School at a
17U.S. military base in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1989; once he and
18his wife returned from Germany, they continued traveling in the
19United States whenever they could, including their winter
20vacations in Tempe, Arizona; and
 
21    WHEREAS, John Duffin was the author of a series of 12
22dramatic skits about the history of Ottawa; he worked with many

 

 

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1others to stage the skits and musical accompaniment at an
2Ottawa Riverfest summer celebration outdoors; and
 
3    WHEREAS, John Duffin was preceded in death by his dear
4wife, Beverly; and
 
5    WHEREAS, John Duffin is survived by his children and their
6families, John T. Duffin and his children, Conor (Danielle) and
7Kirstin; Sally (David) Hass and their children, Stephen and
8Deborah; Julie (Jim) Wajrowski and her son, Brandon Duffin
9(Karisa); William (Cindy) Duffin and their children, Anna,
10Blake, and Luke; James (Gloria) Duffin and their children,
11Garrett, Liam, and Meghan; and Susan (Rich) Navratil and their
12children, Caitlin and Nathan; he is also survived by his
13sister, Betty (Ray) Hyde, and their children, Gene (Lynn) Hyde,
14Emily, and Stella; his brother, Tom Hyde and his children,
15Austin and McKenna; and his wife's nephew, Garry (Nancie)
16Gloshen, and their daughters, Braedi Gloshen and Kindra (Tony)
17Kapsch, and their daughter, Anslee, and her son, Caden;
18therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
20ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
21his family and friends, the passing of John Henry Duffin; and
22be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to the family of John Duffin as an expression of our
3sympathy.