James Arthur Duff

Duff, Mr. James Arthur Muskegon Mr. James Arthur Duff, age 88, passed away at his home with his son at his side on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. Jim was born in Muskegon, MI on October 11, 1931 to Paul & Janet (Edna) (Wormbrand) Duff. He married his high school sweetheart, the former Barbara Mars, on March 23, 1950. Barb and Jim were married for 51 years residing in the Muskegon area. Jim was a Pattern Maker for over 45 years. He served his apprenticeship at Anderson Pattern, then in 1965 he started Muskegon Pattern with three other coworkers. After 15 years he returned to Anderson Pattern and retired in 1996. Barb passed away in 2001 and after 4 lonely years Jim married Thelma Kieft on September 10, 2005. Together they shared 11 happy years until Thelma's passing on August 16, 2016. Dad had many interests and hobbies. At a young age the principal at Angel School arranged for him to attend a speech therapy camp to help Dad overcome stuttering. It was at that camp that he discovered his love for music and singing. He spent many enjoyable years singing with Barbershop Quartets: the "Cleftomaniacs" and lastly, Four Score. He was a member of the Shoreline Barbershop Chorus in Muskegon. He never had any formal music training, but researched and taught himself the fundamentals of music theory, which he enjoyed talking about. He was a long-time member of Immanuel Lutheran Church, where he sang with the choir and played in the bell choir. Dad had a lifelong love of sailing and the water. He loved nothing more in his last few years than taking a ride to Pere Marquette Park to see the boats in the channel, watch the waves on the lake, and show his children where all his extended family used to live in the Lakeside area. He had a number of sailboats in his life, a few of which he built with his brother, Bill, or with the help of his sons. Dad loved math; he could do trigonometry calculations in his head. His retirement gift to himself was a graphing calculator. Dad was always interested in history, particularly The Civil War. He loved reading, playing Sudoku on his phone, and his beloved dogs. Survivors Jim is survived by his children, Paul Duff, Randy (Michelle) Duff, Ron (Pam) Duff, Pam (Ron) Varga; daughter-in-law Kim Williams; grandchildren, Vicki (Greg) Tolan, Jackie (Thomas) Hanis, Paul (Elizabeth) Duff, Greg Duff, James (Jen) Duff, Lori (Todd) Rasmussen, Dr. Andrea (John) Giffel, Dr. Beth (Dr. Sylvester) Owusu, Sara (Mike) Earnest; 17 great-grandchildren; step-children Barry (Karen) Kieft, Jack (Gloria McManus) Kieft, Sandy (Cindy) Kieft, and Tammie (Greg) Keane; siblings Grace Meyers, Paul Duff, Robert (Judy) Duff; brother-in-law, Jim (Linda) Mars, many nieces, nephews, and friends. Jim also had a special relationship with step-grandchildren Meredith Rahrig and Alaina Rahrig. He was preceded in death by his 1st wife, Barbara, 2nd wife, Thelma; children, Kevin Duff, Cheryl Duff; grandson, David Duff; brothers-in-law, Bernard Meyers, Rick Mars, Doug Mars, Merle Hittle, sisters-in-law Rosy Duff, Marilyn Hittle. Service A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Memorial: In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Cheryl A. Duff Scholarship Fund at https://muskegonfoundation.org/give/give-now/?fundname=Cheryl%20Duff%20Memorial%20Scholarship or the Noah Project at https://www.noahprojectmuskegon.org/. Please visit www.clockfuneralhome.com to leave a memory or sign the online guestbook. Clock Funeral Home - Muskegon