John Duty, 67, of Tekonsha lost his long battle against cancer Friday, January 13, 2023 at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.
A celebration of John’s life will take place at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at Lighthouse of Tekonsha, 616 N. Main Street, Tekonsha, MI 49092. Interment will follow at Riverside Cemetery in Tekonsha.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 from 5:00-7:00 p.m., also at Lighthouse of Tekonsha.
John was born on November 25, 1955 in Albion, Michigan. He was nine years old when his father, Erastus Duty, died very unexpectedly – an event that forced him and his older brother, Jimmy, to grow up so much faster than other kids their age. When he was 11, his older brother, Jimmy, was sent to Vietnam – and suddenly, John was the “man of the house.”
All his life, John did more than his share, worked harder, and faced life’s adversities head-on. He learned to take charge; he became an expert at repairing everything from a balky oil-burning furnace to the family TV console.
He received his education through the hundreds of electronics and computer programming books and journals he studied late into the night. Locally, folks began bringing him their broken electronic equipment, and his porch was often stacked with TVs and receivers and turntables – in hopes John could work his magic to bring them back to life.
John never left his childhood home on Jackson Drive in Tekonsha. On February 14, 1986, he married his valentine, Julie Ann Klingaman, and the two of them set up housekeeping there – first, with his mom, Mary Duty, who died in 2005, and continuing throughout his life.
John and Julie had three children, Holly, Emily, and Austin. The family loved going to Disney World, and John soon became interested in collecting and trading Disney pins. In addition to numerous Disney trips, the family traveled to the Kennedy Space Center, Mount Rushmore, Kentucky, and other destinations – always by car, as it was more economical for five people, and John truly hated flying.
In recent months, when travel was a challenge, he loved playing Pokemon on his phone in and around Tekonsha.
John loved small animals. In addition to a three-legged cat, he welcomed strays of all stripes. He fed corn nuts to the neighborhood squirrels. He was a pushover for anything four-legged and furry.
Above all, John was a proud, devoted husband, father, grandfather, and brother. He celebrated his family, defended them fiercely, and loved them unconditionally.
John is survived by his wife, Julie, their children Holly (Scott) Corey, Emily (Grant) Mackenzie, and Austin; grandchildren Leah and Ava Corey, and Phoebe Mackenzie; brother Jimmy (Eileen); and sister Rhonda Cooley.
Memorial donations are suggest to Erin’s Angels, 498 Ridge Rd, Quincy, MI 49082.
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