SR0006 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0006 LRB098 04943 GRL 34973 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of John Henry Duffin of Ottawa, who passed away on December 7, 2012; and

WHEREAS, John Duffin was born on June 11, 1929, in Oshkosh, Nebraska; his parents were John H. and Mary Elizabeth Duffin; he married Beverly Barger on December 31, 1949; and

WHEREAS, After the passing of his father and his mother's remarriage 3 years later, John Duffin and his family moved west and settled in La Grande, Oregon, where he completed high school; after a short stint at Eastern Oregon University, he set his sights on an acting career and left Oregon for the University of Iowa School of Drama; while in Iowa City, he met and fell in love with his future wife; the couple later moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to be closer to her family; and

WHEREAS, After moving to Des Moines, John Duffin worked a series of jobs before finally working third shift at an aircraft factory while he completed his bachelor's degree at Drake University in Des Moines; rather than pursuing acting, he entered a lifelong career in education; he later earned a master's degree in fine arts at the University of Iowa; he accepted a position teaching high school speech and English and taught for several years in Iowa; in 1963, he accepted a position at Ottawa High School (OHS) and stayed there for 26 years, teaching speech and English until his retirement in 1989; he also served as chairman of the English department at OHS for 20 years; and

WHEREAS, John Duffin was a recipient of a Master Teacher Award from the State of Illinois for his work in education; and

WHEREAS, John Duffin enjoyed coaching competitive speech and directing high school plays; with the help of talented colleagues and dedicated students, he built highly successful speech teams and enjoyed many successes over the years; his reputation among his peers was excellent and he was honored by being elected president of the Illinois Speech and Theater Association for a year; and

WHEREAS, Following his retirement, John Duffin secured a position teaching speech and English at Patch High School at a U.S. military base in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1989; once he and his wife returned from Germany, they continued traveling in the United States whenever they could, including their winter vacations in Tempe, Arizona; and

WHEREAS, John Duffin was the author of a series of 12 dramatic skits about the history of Ottawa; he worked with many others to stage the skits and musical accompaniment at an Ottawa Riverfest summer celebration outdoors; and

WHEREAS, John Duffin was preceded in death by his dear wife, Beverly; and

WHEREAS, John Duffin is survived by his children and their families, John T. Duffin and his children, Conor (Danielle) and Kirstin; Sally (David) Hass and their children, Stephen and Deborah; Julie (Jim) Wajrowski and her son, Brandon Duffin (Karisa); William (Cindy) Duffin and their children, Anna, Blake, and Luke; James (Gloria) Duffin and their children, Garrett, Liam, and Meghan; and Susan (Rich) Navratil and their children, Caitlin and Nathan; he is also survived by his sister, Betty (Ray) Hyde, and their children, Gene (Lynn) Hyde, Emily, and Stella; his brother, Tom Hyde and his children, Austin and McKenna; and his wife's nephew, Garry (Nancie) Gloshen, and their daughters, Braedi Gloshen and Kindra (Tony) Kapsch, and their daughter, Anslee, and her son, Caden; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of John Henry Duffin; and be it further

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