The Ryan Family lived here in Fairfax where Gilles & Claudette Rainville live now. JoAnne graduated from BFA in 1959 and Bill Ryan graduated with my wife Maryann in 1958 - Our sympathy goes out to Pat's Family.
Patrick Rowley Duffy, a life time resident of Milton, Vermont, died at the Fletcher Allen Hospital on Thursday, June 16,2011, at the age of 66. He was born on May 18, 1945 to Vernon Patrick and Elizabeth Rowley Duffy of Milton. He married Joanne Ryan on November 3, 1984--celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary this past year.
Pat grew up on a Milton dairy farm, graduated from Milton High School and attended the University of Vermont. He was a dairy farmer his whole life and owned and operated the Duffy family farm for 30 years and was a member of the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery. He served his home town of Milton well as a Justice of the Peace, a member of the Civil Board of Authority and recently as a member of the Planning Commission. Pat enjoyed being involved in town government. He worked for the South Burlington School District as a bus driver whose run was Grand Isle County. He had a good understanding of young people and he was well respected and liked very much by the students who rode his bus. Pat never forgot what it was like to be a kid. Pat was a live-long member of St. Ann's Parish and a devoted Catholic. But most of all, he was a family man who loved his wife and his son, Tom, his brother and his
sisters very much. Pat carried us through thick and thin with his quiet yet strong ability to see what others were unable to see.
He is survived by his loving wife, Joanne Duffy, of Milton, and his son, Thomas, his four sisters, Mary Ann Godin (Reg), Theresa Duffy, Katherine Cadre act (David) and Elizabeth Shanley Triggs (Dan), and his only brother, V. Michael Duffy, all of whom live in Milton. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Mary Muir (Ron) and brother-in-law William F. Ryan of Phoenix, Arizona, by three aunts, Theresa
Rowley Cosgrove, Joan Rowley Hurley, and Ann Rowley Howrigan, several nieces and nephews, and many cousins. He was pre-deceased by his parents, Vernon and Elizabeth Rowley Duffy, his sister, Ellen Duffy Manley, his aunts and uncles Dr. Mary Rowley Busino, Frederica Rowley, Lawrence and Theresa Rowley, Patrick Rowley, Aloysius Rowley, and John Rowley.
Pat was a kindhearted and generous man who always looked at life with optimism and enthusiasm - a good and decent man who was loved by many. He will be sorely missed by his loving wife, Joanne, who served him so well, his son, Tom, whom he loved deeply,
his brothers and sisters, the aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews of a large extended family and his friends. He will be remembered for his strength, wisdom, sense of humor, his wide interest in many topics and his perceptive and often witty comments during any
conversation. Pat was a voracious reader-his books always stacked high on his bedside table. He loved being outdoors whether it was enjoying summer evenings at his home on the Duffy Farm in Milton with beautiful views of the Adirondacks and the meadows before them, in his garden or just taking a ride-Pat lived simply in knowing that the best things in life are free.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m., Monday, June 20, in St. Ann's Catholic Church in Milton with burial to follow in St. Ann's Cemetery. Visiting hours will be held at the Minor Funeral Home on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Route 7, in Milton. Memorial contributions in Pat's memory may be made to the Right To Life Organization.
