| Silvia Ströhle (Radnai) | Für Kirsten | December 15, 2010 |
Liebe Kirsten,
es tut mir so unendlich leid, was du erleben musstest. Auch wenn ich deinen Mann nicht kannte, werde ich für ihn beten. Wie bereits gesagt, melde dich, wenn du Hilfe brauchst. Meine Adresse ist:
Silvia Ströhle
Zur Neumühle 18
92637 Weiden (Germany)
Alles Liebe für dich und die Kinder!
| Michael Uram | Jim was my colleague and friend | December 15, 2010 |
Jim and I worked together at HP in Naperville. He was my colleague, my mentor, and my friend.
Jim was a superstar ... but much more importantly, he was one of the most decent men I have ever known. Around the office and on projects Jim was always known as being extremely thoughtful, gracious and kind. He was a good listener … with more than just a bit of an impish sense of humor.
Jim always celebrated the honest labors and contributions of each and every everyman. He valued intellect over brawn, decency and kindness over aggression, family over fortune, and the power of ideas over the idea of power.
I loved all of these things about him. We all did. With Jim in the world, it always felt that reason and decency and kindness would ultimately triumph.
When Jim and I talked about the life and the nature of the universe, his comments often turned to family. Jim was a private person but it was more than clear how much he adored Kirsten and Hannah and Molly and Jenny and each member of his large family. He was so proud to be a Duff.
Kirsten … I remember Jim informing me that you and Jim had decided to leave Chicago and move to New Hampshire. Like many of Jim’s Chicago colleagues, I was saddened. But Jim spoke of the forests, the mountains, and the pine crisp air of the northeast that he hoped you would love.
Hannah and Molly and Jenny .. just look at your dad’s colleagues who sent cards, notes, called, and even showed up today, from across the country, in the depth of winter. Your father was deeply admired, respected, and loved by those who worked with him.
To the members of the Duff family, many of Jim's friends and colleagues were unable to travel in winter to attend the memorial service. Please use this site to share the stories of Jim that only you know so well:
· Mr. Duff … Jim as your son, as a young boy, growing up, his sense of mischief, his boyish discoveries, his path to be becoming our kind, decent, and wicked-smart colleague.
· Jim’s siblings … share with us the stories of your brother: your childhood adventures, growing up together in your big family. Tell us what the seating-chart pecking order was at the dinner table … who got to sit next to Mom and Dad, who HAD to sit next to Mom and Dad (and why), who got the last piece of pie, the last glass of milk .. and who got gypped.
· Kirsten … if you feel up to it, grace us with your stories of how you and Jim met, your silly and endearing dating stories (my first dinner date with my to-be wife Andrea was at the K-mart deli .. yes .. she married me despite the BlueLight instant-mashed potato special). You’d honor us with the stories you hold dear.
· Hannah and Molly and Jenny .. you are now adults in your own right. Tell us your stories of your father – playing together, working together, your earliest Christmas memories, learning how to ride a bike, family vacations, your Dad’s funny-dorky sayings that all kids love to make fun of. And .. tell us the tales of those protective-fatherly eyes giving the once-over to your first dates …
Jim’s sudden passing is the starkest of reminders to never-ever-ever-ever let the dark of night fall without expressing our thanks and gratitude and love to those we love, to those who love us, and to the God who created us.
I’ve never met anyone more deeply curious than Jim about how things worked. He was a searcher, an inquirer, an incessant seeker of truth. Even though the world is a sadder place without Jim, it’s comforting to know that his quest for the ultimate truth has been answered.
Jim once told me his “dream job” was to be a “Chief Process Officer”. I'm confident that Jim has now met the true Chief Process Officer, the One who knows how everything works. I can just see the look of profound satisfaction and delight on Jim’s face, the knowing Jim-twinkle in his eyes, and the without-a-doubt affirmative nodding of his head … now that he knows how all the pieces fit together. I find myself in awe of Jim, yet again. He’s now figured out the answers to questions I’m still trying to comprehend. He was always a superstar.
I am enormously richer for having known Jim and having worked with him. Thank you for inviting us into this holy and sacred moment in the life of your family.
| Steffie | I Will Miss You | October 17, 2010 |
