Peter Duff’s long and uneasy dance with Parkinson’s Disease ended at home on Saturday 30 August, 2008; he is busily re-engineering Fiddler’s Green. One hopes he finds some idyllic shallow water coves there, to provide distraction from the doubtless numerous projects now underway.
Peter was born in 1936 and grew up in the western suburbs of Boston, MA. A 1958 graduate of Tufts University with a degree in nuclear physics, Peter also attended Case Western Reserve University. He joined Texas Instruments Metals and Controls in Attleboro, MA on graduation, and subsequently held positions with Fisher Engineering, Rockland ME, Standard-Thomson, Waltham, MA, and Edson Marine, New Bedford, MA. A fortuitous meeting while sailing to a close friend’s wedding led to his co-founding Edey & Duff, Inc. in Mattapoisett, MA in 1968.
Edey & Duff was to provide the bully pulpit for Peter’s maritime expression, producing such gems as the Stone Horse, Doughdish, Dovekie and Shearwater. Edey & Duff also provided an opportunity to explore the geography and demography of this country, leading to visiting most, if not all, of the 50 states, having a gam with people everywhere, afloat or ashore, and finding many life-long friends.
Peter enjoyed sailing with his family and in the company of friends, initially on his sharpie Blackgauntlet, then on his Dovekie Ornithopter, and later on his Shearwater Relentless. He was a prodigious builder of boat models, to which he turned on his retirement, following the sale of Edey & Duff in 1987.
Peter is survived by his wife Margaret, son Ian Duff and wife Kathryn, daughter Jane Gleason and husband Bob, and five grandchildren, Storey, Ansel and Haines Duff, and Gordon and Henry Gleason. Peter has donated his body to Harvard Medical School to help advance research in Parkinson’s Disease. There will be a memorial service on Saturday 11 October at 17:30 at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. In lieu of flowers or other thoughtful remembrances, please feel free to make a donation in Peter’s name to the American Parkinson Disease Association, 135 Parkinson Avenue, Staten Island, NY, 10305, www.apdaparkinson.org, (800) 223-2732 or (718) 981-8001.