"And her posterity shall rise up and call her blessed."
Martina Dalebout Duffin returned home on November 30, 2001 at the age of 97.
She was born on January 8, 1904 to Dutch immigrant parents in Salt Lake City. She lived a long, full life of love and service to her family, church, and community. She was the oldest of nine children and was a second mother to all of them. They adored their "Teenie". She graduated early from West High School at the age of 16. There she won a typewriter and a trip as the "fastest typist in Utah". When her father was called on a second LDS mission to Holland, she helped support the family with her secretarial skills. She also received a teacher's certificate from the University of Utah. At the age of 20, she filled a mission to Mexico, which made her trilingual. She could converse in Dutch and Spanish to the end.
She married Jesse W. Duffin on August 18, 1927 in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of five children. Her husband, Jesse, passed away in 1971. One son, Major Rey L. Duffin, preceded her in death, losing his life in the Vietnam conflict in 1967. She is survived by a son, Dr. James M. Duffin (Mary), Nancy Burgoyne, Rey's widow, and three daughters: Lila Atkin (Tom), Luann Gillette (Paul), and Joyce Hemmert (Wynn) and by 28 grandchildren and 69 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by a sister, Mercy Magdiel and a brother, Jerry Dalebout.
She shared her musical talents from an early age, playing the piano in dance bands, for radio, and as an accomplished accompanist and organist for church and community. She was president of the PTA in Salt Lake during the depression and raised funds for milk and eyeglasses for the students. She has served faithfully in the auxiliaries of the church and as Primary president and Relief Society president in two wards. They held many dinners and bazaars to raise money to build the new Fifth/Eighth Ward building. Her husband, Jesse, was the contractor for the building, which utilized member labor. She was a faithful Visiting Teacher for more than 75 years. She was active in the 4-H program and a devoted genealogist.
She was employed as a schoolteacher, secretary, and bookkeeper. After marriage, she used those skills to further her husband's career as a contractor. She also worked along side him in the Farm and Home Builders Supply in Tooele which they co-founded with Karl and Florence McBride in 1946. After her husband's passing, she continued as co-owner and manager of the store well into her 80's. When her two sons served missions to the Netherlands, the Duffins sponsored several Dutch immigrant families who lived with them in their home. Her door was always open to those in need. She shared her home in Tooele and Orem with family, grandchildren, schoolteachers, and BYU students. She was Tooele County's Mother of the Year in 1978.
Her children and grandchildren stand in awe of her great capacity to love, share, and give of her time and means to all she knew. What an example and heritage she has left for us - a legacy of love and service. We feel blessed to be her posterity.
Friends may call at the Tate Mortuary, Friday, Dec. 7th from 6-8 p.m. and on Saturday, Dec. 8th, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. (Tate Mortuary, also), 110 So Main, Tooele. Funeral services will be held at the Fifth/Eighth Ward (E. Utah Ave and N Pinehurst Ave.) at 12 noon.
See www.utahfind.com/martina for a map and directions to the mortuary and church.