Willard Harold Duffey, Sr.

Willard Harold “Dub” Duffey, Sr, 88, of Ore City, Texas, went to be with the Lord on June 23, 2022. Services will be held at First Baptist Church in Ore City on Saturday, July 2, 2022 at 10:00 A.M. with Brother James Gray officiating. Burial will be at Dennis Cemetery in Hughes Springs following the service. The family will receive visitors on Friday, July 1, 6 – 8 P.M. at Grubbs-Loyd Funeral Home in Diana.
Willard was born on May 13, 1934 in Galveston, Texas to Leonard Francis and Ella Estelle Duffey. On April 15, 1954, he married Wilma Jean Golden. He attended and majored in Forestry at The Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas, currently known as Texas A & M and was a member of the Corp. The summer of his Junior year he worked for the National Forestry Service as a lookout, living with his new bride in the Sawyer Ridge Fire Tower in Idaho. As a master electrician, Willard worked in many places, including Lone Star Steel, SWEPCO Power Plants, offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and in Longview, Texarkana, Paris, Shreveport, Oklahoma, Washington, and Tennessee. He was a member of IBEW Local 301 in Texarkana. Willard was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed spending time in the woods and on the lake.

As a lifetime member of the NRA and TSR, he taught hunter safety to many young people. One of his favorite pastimes was being a lifetime HAM radio operator and a member of SkyWarn Storm Spotter Program. He spent time working disaster relief with the Texas Baptist Men and The Salvation Army Disaster Relief traveling as a Radio Communications Specialist and helping with the Hot Food Big Rigs set up after many of the hurricanes in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. He had the privilege of joining the Search and Rescue team in Northeast Texas, after the Columbia Space Shuttle broke up during re-entry into the atmosphere. As an adult, he was awarded the Silver Beaver Award, which is awarded to scouts of exceptional character who have provided distinguished service within a council. He was a Boy Scout leader in Ore City for many years and served in Council positions. He was honored to escort a group of Eagle Scouts from the Council one summer as their Counselor, to hike Camp Philmont, New Mexico. Willard was a member of First Baptist Church in Ore City, where he served as a Deacon, Treasurer for the Church, and the sound board operator. He and Jean loved the Lord and spent a lifetime serving in their church. Known as “Popal” by his grandchildren, he loved spending time with them all and they have many, loving memories of those times.
Survivors include his sister: Helen Baxter, daughter: Pamala Jean York and husband Dwight, son: Willard Harold Duffey, Jr and wife Melinda, grandchildren: Amanda Jones and husband Casey, Justin Duffey and wife Erica, Amelia Potter and husband Dillan, Christopher Stevens, and Ayriana Stevens, great-grandchildren: Cole Jones, Laynie Jones, Clay Jones, Emma Stevens, Jaxon Stevens, Barrett Duffey, and Tatum Duffey.
He was preceded in death by his parents Leonard Francis Duffey, Sr. and Ella Estelle Duffey, his wife of 63 years, Wilma Jean Golden Duffey, and a brother: Leonard Francis Duffey, Jr.