Otho Raymond Durfee Jr.

Otho Raymond Durfee, Jr. passed away at his home and went to be with the Lord and his beloved wife Mona in Heaven on August 2, 2004. Otho, most commonly known as Durf, was born to Otho and Ruth Durfee on October 7, 1931. He was a lifelong resident of West Branch. On April 7, 1956, Durf took Mona Ruth Breadon to be his bride. They were married forty years before she passed away on August 21, 1996. Durf served his country in the United States Navy on the USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin during the Korean Conflict. He was a member of the Rods 'n Relics Car Club and a 25 year member of the Masonic Lodge in West Branch and also served as Worshipful Master. Durf worked for the United States Postal Service for 33 years until his retirement in 1987 and, not one to stay idle long, went on to deliver mail for the West Branch-Rose City School System. Durf was also a lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church of West Branch. Durf's many interests included hunting, Harley Davidson motorcycles, restoring classic cars, woodworking and baseball. Durf was loved by many and a friend to all. He could often be found visiting with friends over coffee at a local restaurant and was always friendly and quick with a joke. In the summer you could hear him coming before you saw him because you heard him whistling an upbeat tune as he drove with his car top down or window open. Durf and Mona had four children; two sons, Michael (Theresa) Durfee of West Branch, David (Amy) Durfee of Mt. Pleasnt and two daughters, Wendy (Jeffrey) Fisher of Johannesburg and Melanie (Larry) Newman of West Branch. He was the proud Papa to ten grandchildren who adored him; Matthew Raymond, Brian Michael, Danielle Ruth, Samuel Otho, Andrew Raymond, Morgan Nicole, Joshua, Elijah Zane, Kayleigh Mona and Parker Hayden. Durf is also survived by two sisters, Yvonne (Cyril) Haines of Vassar and Sherry Cummings of Burton; sisters-in-law Mary (Kenneth) Bragg and Carol Piar and brothers-in-law Edward (Irene) Breadon and Donald (Elizabeth) Breadon as well as many nieces and nephews and his faithful lifelong friend Clifford VanSickle of Bartlesville, OK. Durf was preceded in death by his wife Mona, his parents, his brothers Richard and Jack, an infant sister, his parents-in-law Albert Breadon, Sarah Breadon Rosevear, Howard Rosevear and sister-in-law Marjorie Day. Visitation will be at the Steuernol & McLaren Funeral Home in West Branch on Tuesday August 3rd from 5-9 p.m. and Wednesday August 4th from 2-9 p.m. The funeral service will be held on Thursday August 5th at 1:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in West Branch. Rev. Mark Miller will officiate with burial following at Brookside Cemetery. Memorial contributions can be made to the Crisis Pregnancy Center of West Branch or the First United Methodist Church Scholarship Fund.