Ernest Duff

Obituary of Ernest Duff

Dr. Ernest Arthur Duff, 79, political scientist and educator, of Lynchburg, passed away Friday, April 17, 2009 at his residence. He was the husband of Barbara Jones Duff. Born December 27, 1929 in Charlottesville, VA , he was the son of the late Ernest Ragland and Emma Ruth Bennett Duff. He was retired professor of political science at Randolph- Macon Woman?s College (now Randolph College). He was a member of Peakland Baptist Church and the Virginia Baptist Association. Dr. Duff served as a Foreign Service Officer for the State Department in Havana, Cuba from 1957-1960 and in Washington from 1960-1962 , then in Bogotá, Columbia from 1962-1963. He then came to teach at Randolph-Macon Woman?s College in 1964 . In 1979-1980, he was a visiting Fulbright professor at the University of Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico. He was the author of ?Agrarian Reform in Columbia? , ?Violence and Repression in Latin America?and ?Leader and Party in Latin America.? Dr. Duff has served as political analyst for WSET-Channel 13, here in Lynchburg since 1987. He was a Lieutenant in the United States Navy and served during the Korean War. He was a Helen Wessell Fellow at UVa, 1963-64, NEH Fellow at Brown University in 1990. He was a member of the Latin American Studies Association, Southern Political Science Association, Southeastern Association of Latin American Studies and the Virginia Political Science Association. He enjoyed playing tennis and gardening. In addition to his wife Barbara, he is survived by two sons, Ernest Arthur Duff, Jr. and his wife Vidya and Cameron John Duff and his wife Susan of Tampa, FL; two daughters, Melanie Duff Badesch and her husband, Dr. David Badesch , of Denver, CO, Valerie Susan Duff-Strautmann and her husband Jacob, of Boston, MA; one sister, Gladys Thornton of Burien, WA and nine grandchildren. He was preceded in death by one sister, Virginia Ruth King. A funeral service will be held Monday, April 20, 2009, at 11:00 AM in Peakland Baptist Church with Dr. Steven McNeely and Dr. Nathan Brooks officiating. The family will receive friends Sunday from 2-4 PM at Diuguid Wiggington Road Chapel. Burial will be held at 3:00 PM, Monday, in Monticello Memorial Garden, Charlottesville, Va. Diuguid Funeral Service-Wiggington Road Chapel (385-8900) is serving the family.
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