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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

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

 

 

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1accepted a position teaching high school speech and English and
2taught for several years in Iowa; in 1963, he accepted a
3position at Ottawa High School (OHS) and stayed there for 26
4years, teaching speech and English until his retirement in
51989; he also served as chairman of the English department at
6OHS for 20 years; and
 
7    WHEREAS, John Duffin was a recipient of a Master Teacher
8Award from the State of Illinois for his work in education; and
 
9    WHEREAS, John Duffin enjoyed coaching competitive speech
10and directing high school plays; with the help of talented
11colleagues and dedicated students, he built highly successful
12speech teams and enjoyed many successes over the years; his
13reputation among his peers was excellent and he was honored by
14being elected president of the Illinois Speech and Theater
15Association for a year; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Following his retirement, John Duffin secured a
17position teaching speech and English at Patch High School at a
18U.S. military base in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1989; once he and
19his wife returned from Germany, they continued traveling in the
20United States whenever they could, including their winter
21vacations in Tempe, Arizona; and
 
22    WHEREAS, John Duffin was the author of a series of 12

 

 

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