Obituary of Kenneth M. Duff

Kenneth M. Duff, 83, died December 10, 2015 at the Saint John Regional Hospital following a brief illness. The son of American Presbyterian missionaries, Ken was born on January 18, 1932 in India, where he lived with his older brother and his mother (his father died when he was very young) until he was 14. He attended boarding school in the foothills of the Himalayas while living in India. In 1946, Ken’s family moved to the United States and lived in Pennsylvania. After graduating from high school there he went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts in history from Wooster College in Ohio. After graduation Ken enlisted in the US Army and was stationed in Europe in the mid-50’s. He later continued his education at Rutgers University, graduating with a Masters in Library Science. With his new career as a librarian in hand, Ken married Mary Lou Griesinger and took a position at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Ken’s life in Canada began when, in 1963, he accepted an offer from the University of New Brunswick to become the first chief librarian at the newly-opened Saint John campus, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1997. Ken created the library virtually from scratch and fully embraced the challenges of developing its resources as the university grew and technology advanced. In the early 1980’s he took a sabbatical year to improve his math and computer skills so that he would be prepared to lead the library through the computer revolution that he correctly anticipated. Ken was a lifelong, avid chess player, and was a founding member of the Saint John Chess Club, helping to establish it not long after his arrival in Saint John. He helped direct the club and many of its tournaments for decades and was instrumental in bringing the month-long World Chess Festival to Saint John in 1988. He was still actively organizing and participating in chess tournaments and club activities as recently as this past October, when he was involved in the NB Blitz tournament. Ken contributed greatly to the life of the Presbyterian Church in Saint John for many years and also devoted much of his time to Grace Presbyterian, where he served on the Kirk Session and as an Elder. In numerous ways, Ken contributed to his community. He taught Adult Literacy for a time, and assisted and hosted Central American refugees during the late 1980’s. He was generous and caring, possessed a powerful intellect and he could frequently be found poring over a book or a chess board. After the death of Mary Lou in 1978, he raised his two children, Karen and Michael, and was a supportive and caring father. Ken was predeceased by his older brother, William Duff, by his first wife, Mary Lou, and by his second wife, Lorna Hutchinson. He is survived by his wife, Doris Duff; his daughter, Karen of Saint John; his son, Michael (Gretchen); his two granddaughters, Madeline and Anna-Grace all of Auburn, Maine; his sister-in-law, Sally-Lyn Duff of Baltimore, Maryland; and several nieces and nephews. Resting at Brenan’s Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John, NB (634-7424) with visiting on Friday, December 18, 2015 from 2-4 and 7-9 pm. A celebration of Ken’s life will be held on Saturday, December 19, 2015 at 11:00 from Grace Presbyterian Church, 101 Coburg Street, Saint John. In lieu of flowers, remembrances made to Grace Presbyterian church or any charity of the donor’s choice would be appreciated by the family.