John Paul Durfey

Obituary John Paul Durfey 1940 ?" 2008 Thank you for visiting our website in memory of John. We hope you will leave some memories of John here so that all who knew him can share in your enjoyment of his life. You're also welcome to leave messages of hope and encouragement to his family and friends. The purpose of this site is to share with you photos and comments on how we knew John and on some of the recent special memories we carry with us. We hope you enjoy them. Sincerely, Marian Gerard and Esther Hill, sisters-in-law. JOHN'S LAST MONTH For Christmas, 2007, Marge's side of John's family gave him a gift certificate for a flight in a WWII Warbird. John loved airplanes, had flown a little in his youth, and over the years became incredibly knowledgeable about many different aircraft. Before Marge got seriously ill, he was flying models at the "flying field" in Auburn. He crashed as many as he flew and was always making repairs, but his enjoyment of this hobby was obvious in the delight he took in watching these birds fly. So the gift of a flight in a WWII fighter plane got him really excited the closer the time came. At first, I think he wondered if he would be able to actually take the flight, but as the weeks and months went by, and he recovered successfully from chemo and radiation, he anticipated this experience with all the passion he had for aircraft. The date he selected for the flight was August 2, which was Marge's birthday. He figured she'd be right up there whooping and hollering with him, and I'm sure he was right! Thirteen family members and friends accompanied him to Yakima, WA to witness the flight. John was so excited that he couldn't contain it. For those of us observing, his delight was the greatest gift for us! Following are some of the photos taken on Aug. 2, 2008 at McAllister Airfield in Yakima. We hope you enjoy them! On the Tuesday following John's return, he began experiencing unusually severe headaches and pain in his left hip and leg. As the pain got worse, he began subduing it with meds, but before long, they weren't sufficient to control his pain. His doctors began running tests but on Friday, August 22, his distress was unbearable and Esther took him to his oncologist, who admitted him to Allenmore Hospital. The day he died, Sunday August 24, test results revealed that there was bleeding in his brain. John frequently said that he hoped he wouldn't linger for months like Marge did, and thank God, he didn't have to. We who loved him are grateful for that.