John L. DURGIN, Sr.

DURGIN, WILLIAMS, JONES, HAWKINS, SUBJECT, MEYER, LECHUGA, PHELPS, HANSEN

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 7/17/2010 at 11:06:16

KLEMME — John L. Durgin Sr., 61, of Klemme, died Wednesday (April 7, 2004) at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in Des Moines. Funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Tenold-Andrews Funeral Home, 528 E. Main St. in Klemme. The Reverend Paddy Druhl of the Klemme United Methodist Church will officiate. Burial with full military honors will be in the Ell Township Cemetery in Klemme. Visitation will be from 5 to 7:30 p.m. today at the Tenold-Andrews Funeral Home in Klemme, and will continue one hour prior to the service on Saturday. Memorials are suggested to the family or the donor’s choice.

John was born Jan. 22, 1943, in Reno, Nev., the son of Elizabeth Williams and foster son of Sam and Irene Jones. John spent his early childhood at Fort Thompson, S.D. He joined the United States Army as a young man. Following his tenure in the service and honorable discharge in May 1966, he moved to Iowa and began farming. He had also been employed as a heavy equipment operator for much of his career. John married Jane Hawkins and they had four children including John L. Durgin II, David, Dixie, and Jean. John and Jane were later divorced. John later married Virginia Subject on Nov. 14, 1996. Following their marriage, the couple made their home in Klemme and have resided there since.

John enjoyed camping, driving around touring the countryside and raising a vegetable garden and morning glories. He loved to spend time with his family and grandchildren. His children and grandchildren will rem-ember going on wild asparagus hunts and can collecting trips with him. John was very sociable. He liked to spend time visiting and sharing stories with his friends and family. He also enjoyed target shooting with his pistol. Those who knew John well will remember him as being very particular in mannerism and his ability to organize things in their proper place. He had an excellent memory and a keen sense of invention, making many unique tools and instruments to make his life challenges easier.

He is survived by his mother, Elizabeth Williams; wife, Virginia Durgin, of Klemme; his children, John L. Durgin II, of Iowa City, David Durgin and wife, Amy, of Manly, Dixie Meyer and husband, Duane, of Iowa City, and Jean Lechuga, of Forest City; his stepchildren, Connie Phelps and husband, Jerry, of Kewanee, Ill., Larry Subject and wife, Pam, of Britt, Kandie Hansen and husband, Kenny, of Colby, Kan.; two brothers, Max Durgin and wife, Joanne, of South Dakota, and Jerry Durgin and wife, Gayle, of South Dakota; 18 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; and many other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his foster parents, Sam and Irene Jones; and two stepsons, Terry and Gary Subject. Tenold-Andrews Funeral Home.

April 6, 2004
Mason City Globe Gazette - Iowa