Thorvald (Ted) Earl Duffin

Fourth child and second son of Ervan L. Duffin and Ireta Brynhilda Peterson, Ted, was born in Portland, Oregon, on 23 February 1927. He took the giant leap into Eternity on July 31, 2023.

Ted married Shirley May Paul in Seattle, Washington, on 4 October 1947. They were later sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They raised three children – Kathleen Mary (Rick) Huso, Thorvald Earl II (Lori) and Shirleen May (Jim) Howard. They have 13 grandchildren, 47 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren.

Ted was preceded in death by his wife Shirley, daughter Kathleen, son-in-law Jim, grandson David Howard and great-grandson Jacob Foster, as well as sisters Mary Ireta (Lester) James, Jessie Lamoyne (Jim Clark), Eleanor Alma (Bill) Wolfe, brothers Ervan L Jr (Marian,) Grover Dale (Kathryn), Glenn Raymond (Eddie) and James Roger (Bonnie). He is survived by his brother Linden Gene (Margaret).

Ted served in the US Army from 1945 to 1972, serving five years in Alaska and 12 years at the White House under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. He also spent tours in Germany, Korea and Vietnam. After retirement from the Army, he studied at Brigham Young University, receiving his BS in Archaeology in 1976. With his wife, also an archaeologist, he pursued field work for 20 years in and around Utah, in Nauvoo, Illinois and in Israel.

Ted served in many callings in the Church, as counselor in District and Branch presidencies, and with his wife, served a mission to El Salvador, Central America, in 1977-78. He also worked for many years in the Name Extraction and Name Indexing programs, in the latter serving over 1.6 million individuals through his diligent efforts. Perhaps his greatest calling was as a worker in the Provo, Utah Temple, where he was noted for his ability to serve patrons in many languages over a period of more than 20 years.

Ted will be buried with his wife Shirley at the Utah Veterans Cemetery located at 17111 1700 W, Bluffdale, UT 84065. Graveside services will be held at 1:00 pm Thursday, August 3rd.
A celebration of Ted’s life will be held at the Legacy Village of Provo, at 4146 N. University Ave. This will begin at 4:00 pm on Thursday, Aug. 3rd. Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.bergmortuary.com.