Duane Merritt Durgee's Obituary
Duane Merritt Durgee passed away in Gainesville, Florida, on the early morning of April 25, 2019. Duane was born on September 29,1978, in Morgantown, West Virginia. He is the son of Duane and Yvonne Durgee. Duane is survived by his parents, his wife, Elizabeth Durgee, his beloved children: daughter, Emily Lynn Durgee, age 12 and step-son CJ Santiago, age 15. He is also survived by his sister Tara Rose Durgee, his nephew, Jackson Durgee and niece, Reagan Durgee and his grandmother Mary W. Durgee. He’ll also be missed by his dog, Fenris. He is predeceased by his grandparents, Merritt Durgee, SannDee Widmaier and George Widmaier.
The Durgees moved to Jacksonville, Florida, from Morgantown in 1981 and eventually to Gainesville in 1983. As a boy, Duane enjoyed playing little league baseball, basketball, football and board games. He advanced to a brown belt in Karate. As he got older, video games were his love, and he became the Nintendo “king” always helping other neighborhood kids progress to the next level of the game. While attending Eastside High School, he excelled in weightlifting.
Duane attended Santa Fe College in Gainesville. From his first job at Godfathers Pizza, he was always a hard worker. He worked at Publix, Media Play, Steak and Ale and Circuit City. He was in sales at Honda and held management positions at Best Buy and PetSmart. Most recently he was a loan originator at Annie Mac.
Duane was a loyal friend and was always available to help friends out with projects, moving, listening or just “hanging out”.
He met his wife, Elizabeth, in 2009 and they were married in 2011. They enjoyed many years of traveling, watching movies, and raising their children, stepson CJ Santiago and daughter Emily. Duane was the happiest when gathered at the dinner table in the evening with his family.
Duane’s daughter, Emily Lynn Durgee, was loved very much and was a great source of pride to him. He made sure that they did many fun things when they were together. They both enjoyed games, watching movies and nature programs.
Duane was a loving, faithful, caring son, husband, and father. No matter where he went, he always met a friend and enjoyed life the most when he was around friends and family.
A Celebration of Duane’s Life will be held Wednesday, May 1, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. In lieu of flowers, those who wish may make memorials to Friends of the Crisis Center, PO Box 357284, Gainesville, FL 32635 or https://www.facebook.com/FriendsoftheCrisisCenterInc/, or to the charity of your choice.
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