Lucille Duffy

LUCILLE M. DUFFY
Lucille M. Duffy passed away peacefully surrounded by her family in Northridge, CA, following a long illness. Lucille was born in 1922, to Ilona and William, in Elmhurst, Illinois, a small town south of Chicago. She grew up in Elmhurst and later settled in California, but she always retained her fondness for Elmhurst and her mid-western roots.
While attending Elmhurst College, Lucille met and married Charles M. Duffy, Sr. in 1942. Charles’ work as a tool and die designer immediately caused them to move several times across the country in support of the war effort.
Lucille was a remarkable woman and the last of the family’s “Greatest Generation”. She was shaped by her Midwestern values, the Great Depression, World War II, and the boom years that followed. Lucille had a combination of intellect, drive and ambition which enabled her to achieve an uncommon record for a woman of her era. In the 1950’s, she was a mother and a housewife but became a lifelong educator because of her husband’s severe and repeated illnesses. Lucille realized that if Charles were to pass, she needed to support and care for her four small children. As a result, she returned to college in 1956, made the Dean’s List, and earned a Bachelor of Education in 1959. She became an elementary teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) starting at O’Melveny Street School in San Fernando, CA and retired from Serrania Elementary in 1976. Along the way, Lucille was a Reading Specialist for LAUSD, served as a Master Teacher, earned her Master of Education in 1973 and received numerous awards for her service. She was also a member of a wide variety of professional organizations that included the Business and Professional Women as well as a group of retired teachers who called themselves the “Turtles”. If you ever meet a member of the Turtles, asked them a simple question: “Are you a Turtle?”. Their response may surprise you.
Following her retirement from LAUSD in 1976, she held the positions of Professor of Developmental Communications at Mission and Pierce Colleges until she stepped down in 1983. Not one to sit around in retirement, she and Charles became Master Graphoanalysts and court certified handwriting experts in 1985, which led them to form their own company, Duffy and Duffy Associates. They used their skills to teach handwriting analysis classes on cruise ships which enabled them to travel throughout the world. When not travelling, she was a member of the Friends of Leonis Adobe and served as a Docent for Malibu State Park. Throughout her retirement, she always enjoyed meeting her former students and learning about their lives.
Lucille was preceded in death by her husband, Charles. She is survived by her daughters Ilona, Dinah and Suzanne, and son, Charles as well as five grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 27, 2016, 2:00 PM, at the Woodland Hills Community Church, 21338 Dumetz Road, Woodland Hills, CA 91364.