Edmund J. Duffy

Edmund J. Duffy, 81

Troy Mr. Edmund J. Duffy, of Troy, died peacefully after a brief illness in Haines City, Florida on January 18, 2003. He was 81.

Along with his brother John, Mr. Duffy was raised in Troy by his mother Helen (nee Kelly) Duffy McCarthy and her father John P. Kelly. His brother John died as a young boy after a battle with Leukemia.

Mr Duffy was a graduate of La Salle Institute, class of 1938 and College of the Holy Cross class of 1942. At La Salle, he always claimed to have been the captain of the varsity dice team. Upon graduation from Holy Cross, Mr. Duffy served as a naval officer in both the European and Pacific theaters during World War II.

After the war, Mr. Duffy attended Albany Law School and graduated in 1948 along with a group of jurists whom he always held in the highest regard.

In 1948, he married Marguerite Knaus of Syracuse and they settled in Troy. For most of his professional career, Mr. Duffy was a partner in the law firm of Bartle, McGrane, Duffy, (Murray), and Jones. For many years Mr. Duffy was active in local political circles and was an officer of the Rensselaer County Democratic Party. Mr. Duffy was a half century member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Troy Public Library.

He also was a long-time member of The Country Club of Troy, The Troy Club, the Taconic Lake Association, and Grenelefe Resort in Haines City. Mr. Duffy was a communicant at St. Ann's Catholic Church in Haines City, St. Francis de Sales in Troy and Sacred Heart Church in Berlin.

He was known to greet everyone on the streets in downtown Troy as he walked along. A very well read man, Mr. Duffy was known for his intelligence and an ever-present wit. Playing bridge, playing golf, and wagering on horse races, were his passions, but as he frequently noted, he never managed to master any of them. Today, we are sure he is enjoying a day of golf with Dunny, Grieso, Hammy, Aram, Ace, Uncle Jimmy, Doc Herbert, and Mr. Plunkett, followed by a few hands of cards and a red wine.

Mr. Duffy is survived by his loving wife Marguerite; son Donald and wife Jeanne of Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Edmund of Charlotte, N.C.; Anthony and wife Donna of Troy, NY; daughter Helen of San Francisco, CA and Kathleen and husband Richard of Homosassa, FL; 10 grandchildren; and 3 great-grandchildren. Mr. Duffy was predeceased by his brother John and three stepbrothers, Robert, Peter and James McCarthy.

Funeral service will be held Friday at 9:30am from St. Francis de Sales Church Congress Street Troy where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. Relatives and friends may call at the Bryce Funeral Home Inc. corner of Pawling at Maple Avenues in Troy on Thursday from 5-8pm. Interment St. Peter's Cemetery in Troy.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to La Salle Institute, 174 Williams Road, Troy, NY 12180.

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