HR0030 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0030 LRB098 07532 GRL 37603 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives 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; 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 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.